The Problem With Polls

The main problem with any polling is that the pollsters talk to people, and people have proven to be less than reliable when it comes to their knowledge of facts and information. Take for instance these polls from Great Britain:

LONDON (AFP) - Britons are losing their grip on reality, according to a poll out Monday which showed that nearly a quarter think Winston Churchill was a myth while the majority reckon Sherlock Holmes was real.

The survey found that 47 percent thought the 12th century English king Richard the Lionheart was a myth.

And 23 percent thought World War II prime minister Churchill was made up. The same percentage thought Crimean War nurse Florence Nightingale did not actually exist.

Three percent thought Charles Dickens, one of Britain's most famous writers, is a work of fiction himself.

Indian political leader Mahatma Gandhi and Battle of Waterloo victor the Duke of Wellington also appeared in the top 10 of people thought to be myths.

Meanwhile, 58 percent thought Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Holmes actually existed; 33 percent thought the same of W. E. Johns' fictional pilot and adventurer Biggles.

Keep that in mind when you see any poll that suggests that Mike Huckabee still has a path to the nomination, or John McCain is electable.

Speaking of John McCain's "electability", Mark Levin offers a few thoughts at The Corner:

I wanted to post a sober thought. If McCain is the Republican nominee, how will he position himself as a candidate? This weekend Obama already telegraphed the Democrat strategy by picking apart McCain's inconsistencies on taxes and immigration. If McCain moves to the right during the general election to try to
appeal to more conservatives, Obama will be able to portray him as a disingenuous flip-flopper. If McCain moves further left to try and blunt those charges, he will continue to alienate a portion of the base. What is he going to run on? If he runs on the surge, how many Democrats and Independents will that attract? Is he going to run against earmarks and for a balanced budget? I don't think that's going to resonate with too many voters. The Democrats will be talking about saving the poor, sick and elderly, in the tradition of FDR. McCain will be talking like Herbert Hoover. And since McCain is running on his personal story, let me suggest that neither McCain's age nor temperament will be ignored by the Democrats. Do we ignore Obama's age and Hillary's temperament?

So, I would encourage Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes, David Brooks, VDH, et al, to pause and reflect about what they're urging Republicans and conservatives to embrace. I don't think John McCain can win in November because of his record, not "unfair" criticism, talk radio, or what have you. If the issue is electability based on current polls, that's an absurd position. Six months ago Rudy was the inevitable Republican nominee and Hillary was the inevitable Democrat nominee.

All you Super Tuesday voters need to keep that in mind.

NOTE: The McCain sign above was photographed in Knoxville, TN where somebody is going around and expressing their dislike by decorating his campaign signs.