Warning: Polling Results May Contain Shocking Content

[MineralMan]

Starting on Monday and continuing through about Wednesday of next week a new round of poll results will appear. These poll results will reflect a few new things that have occurred:

1. Debate Performance Opinions - Now, these have already influenced poll results, but there's still more to learn. A full picture is rarely seen immediately in poll results.
2. Biden's Announcement That He Won't Run - Next week's polls will not include Biden as a choice, for the first time in some time. People will be re-allocating their votes in polls because of this.
3. Benghazi Hearing - Clearly, Clinton outdid herself in these, and clips and news about them is pretty much everywhere. This will be the third source of influence in how people vote when polled.

The results that appear next week, both in national polling and in polling for the early primary states, will be getting a triple-whammy of news that will influence people's opinions.

Just so nobody is caught off-guard by the numbers, please keep those three factors in mind when you see them. In fact, you might want to think about them ahead of time to prevent shock at what they reveal. If you have a great deal of emotional investment in the Democratic Primary races, you may be especially vulnerable to ill effects from these numbers.

Hold onto your hats, folks! The wind is picking up.

[cantbeserious]

1. My Vote Is Not For Sale Nor Influenced By The Opinion Of Others Including DU At Large Or The OP

eom

[MineralMan]

2. Polls aren't for influencing your vote.

They reflect how people are thinking at a particular time. They measure voter opinion, and are not designed to change that opinion. Polls aren't trying to buy your vote or influence it. They're just measuring public opinion.

I'm not trying to influence your opinion, either. I hope you will vote as you think best. That's what I'll be doing. Our opinions might differ, though.

[cantbeserious]

3. Riddle Me This - Why Do So Many Use Polls As A Cudgel - Seems Influence Is Clearly The Purpose

eom

[MineralMan]

4. I hadn't noticed that, really.

I see people posting poll results on DU all the time. Most often, people post poll results that favor the candidate they support, of course. That's only natural.

I rarely post poll results, but I do go to sites that aggregate polls frequently to see how polling is going. I'll leave the actual posting of results to others. I've usually already seen them.

They don't influence my choices at all. I use them to see what's going on out there. I live way up in Minnesota, so I'm not so in touch with other places and how people are feeling about candidates. The polls let me look at that.

Some people, I suppose, have stronger feelings about polls than I do. I just see them as information that lets me get a glimpse into what's happening at the moment. I can also look at them over time to see if there appear to be any trends. I'll be paying special attention this week to the New Hampshire and Iowa polling numbers. They seem to be the most volatile, so they're the most interesting.

[cantbeserious]

5. Polls Are Used To Sway A Crowd - No Thought Involved - A Cudgel

eom

[upaloopa]

7. My vote is not for sale either. I am voting for Hillary no matter how much made up anti Hillary

shit is posted on DU.

[cantbeserious]

8. Yes - Also Significant Facts And Information Like HRC Being Bought And Paid For By

Oligarchs, Corporations and Banks.

[PosterChild]

10. They may be influential as an indication of..

....electability, which can be a valid concern.

[workinclasszero]

6. I can't wait!

I am expecting a large bounce for Hillary!

[kydo]

9. But you left off Webb and Chaffey's departure

Ok Webb had a whole 5 people voting for him or was that negative 5. But Chaffey supporters .... where will they go?

Never mind ... I forgot Chaffey wasn't polling all that much better then Webb.

But seriously, I am with you MineralMan. Polls are useful to see what people are thinking at certain times. But they are not the final vote. One still must go out and do that.