Polling in 2007

[DirtyHippyBastard]

Let me preface this semi-rant to say I pay absolutely no heed to polls. Every poll has a target audience they are pandering to, and are easily swayed by anything from the wording of questions, answers allowed, who is asked the questions, etc. to get the desired results. That being said...
I nearly posted in the capitalist Hillary Clinton group to an OP snarkily wondering where the Sanders surge was, with a little piece of info I hunted down. I will post here instead since I would rather preach to the choir than beat my head against the corporate wall, and probably receive a ban in the process.
In August of 2007 (earliest I could find for that election cycle) national polls had Capitalist Clinton (hitherto referred to as CHC since I figure if Bernie is constantly referred to as a socialist in a derogatory manner, that it is appropriate to refer to all candidates with their ideological labels) had a firm 25% lead over her nearest rival BHO. Info is from here- http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08dem The lead slowly dwindled away over the following months, and you all know the outcome. We now sit in that same or a very similar boat.
But, Obama had no qualms about taking money from any and all that offered, and this is where we have to pick up the slack by emailing tweeting talking liking linking debunking demanding knocking phoning canvassing and yes, donating to Bernie. This is a battle for control of the country's conscience, not only the government.
Don't let them (CHC drones) get you down. Remain enthusiastic. Respond with facts and feeling. Don't be drawn into hyperbolic arguments that appear in GD with more regularity as each day passes. Don't take the bait. They (not all CHC supporters, but more than a few) treat Bernie supporters like impudent children for believing that we can do better than their corporate approved candidate. We can do better. We will do better. I know I personally started at least 10 different responses to their snarky crap today that I backed out of before hitting the post button. It is hard not to respond to false ideas and strawmen with anger and derision, but we gotta be more like our candidate. As Joe Friday said "just the facts ma'am".
Now I'm off to find an Omaha Steve thread so I can send Bernie another 50 bucks.
Thanks for listening

[SoapBox]

1. Well I like your OP!

And I saw that post about where is the surge... I don't go there on purpose but get tricked by clicking on Trending articles...I exit stage-left ASAP...can't even read the nasty that is posted.

That said...I absolutely agree that it is going to take hard work but truly believe it can be a win for Bernie.

[DirtyHippyBastard]

2. That's how I wandered in there, too. Won't happen again.

I backed out very quickly, after nearly committing a faux pas.
I also dislike the nastiness and am refusing to take part in it.

[PatrickforO]

3. You know, I saw that snarky thing wondering where Bernie's surge was.

Apparently these people have difficulty analyzing simple line graphs.

Sure, Clinton is well ahead of Sanders at THIS POINT IN TIME. No doubt there.

BUT...

1. Clinton's line is trending gently down
2. Sanders' line is trending sharply upward

Now, and here's the rub, all one has to do is get the actual poll numbers, which I did and put them on Excel, which I did.

Then I inserted trendlines.

What I found is that if the trends continue as they are, Bernie's upward trendline will cross Hillary's downward trendline around February 2016.

Now, we all know polls are only estimates, but we've got some pretty identifiable trends here. Honestly, if I were a Clinton fan, which I'm not, I would be pretty concerned. Now, if the Clinton campaign can reverse her downward trend, then yes, she stands a good chance of beating Bernie and getting the nomination; but I'm not sure how effective they will be in this effort. Based on the performance of her campaign in 2008, I'd say there might be a leadership issue there.

OK, I'm gonna be just a teensy bit snarky. There's a big leadership issue there. The reality is the Clinton more closely resembles a wind sock than a leader as I've observed how poll driven she is. She won't 'evolve' on stuff until it is quite clear that she'll be 'safe' politically when she does. I mean, do we really want someone who waits for public opinion to change before making a move?

Or do we want Bernie, who is working to MOVE public opinion with bold statements backed by 40 years of consistent action?

Well, I don't know about 'we,' but I want Bernie. In fact I'm gonna give him a bit of money this month.