4 ms·
Boy, a polling org putting up political opinion pieces sure seems like a terrible idea.
by smackfu 12y ago
Boy, a polling org putting up political opinion pieces sure seems like a terrible idea.
- greenjellybean 12y agoI agree, gotta get those views though right?
- zurn91 12y agoSeems like a pretty damning article to everyone currently in a position of power, not one political side or the other.
- fixermark 12y agoOnly depending on how one evaluates the non-factually-substantiated assertions in the opinion piece.
- muglug 12y agoIt seems like it's equally about promoting one of Gallup's products, the "good job" metric they link to. I don't see anything partisan in the piece, simply because the same unemployment metric has been used by both Republicans and Democrats to further their goals.
- smackfu 12y agoHere's a piece from a conservative think tank that is essentially the same argument as what is in the "non-partisan" Gallup opinion poll: https://www.aei.org/publication/tracking-the-unreported-15-6-unemployed/ https://www.aei.org/publication/tracking-the-unreported-15-6... It's been a pretty common talking point.
- jsnk 12y agoI don't see anything wrong with presenting facts unless they are wrong. These facts don't look good on media outlets and Obama, but facts are facts. What I want to know is if these facts are true.
- fixermark 12y agoThis is an opinion piece though; there are facts (in the "lies, damn lies, and statistics" category) that state summary information about the world, and this author interprets those facts in a particular fashion. There's not a lot of truth value one can assign to a statement like "A good job is an individual's primary identity, their very self-worth, their dignity -- it establishes the relationship they have with their friends, community and country." Well, I suppose one could if one were, say, Gallup and could poll on the question of how many people agree with that statement. But I'm unaware of such a poll at this time. ;)
- jobu 12y agoIt seems more an opinion piece about the unemployment metric than about the politics. Granted, the White House is mentioned, but more for framing than any political slant.
- andrewmutz 12y agoYeah, it's probably the CEO promoting his own book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coming_Jobs_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Coming_Jobs_War
- smackfu 12y agoAha, he has a book. Is he running for office soon?
- astazangasta 12y agoDo you are think people who run polling organizations don't have political views? How about Pew? Yahoo? Even the AP? They all do. Why not speak from them? If it doesn't compromise their survey methodology, what's the problem? If you don't know, Gallup was founded on an extremely ideological position: that public opinion matters, and politicians should seek to understand what it is as a guide, and we need tools and organizations devoted to studying it. It seems natural they would advocate for a better informed public.
- smackfu 12y agoI think that if the CEO of a polling company were to come out and endorse a candidate, I would have a really hard time trusting their polls on that race.