Articles

Why Hillary Won

January 09, 2008

What would Shakespeare's Jack Cade say after the New Hampshire Democratic primary? Maybe the demagogue in "Henry VI" would call for the pollsters to be killed first, not the lawyers.

The opinion researchers find themselves in a difficult place after most predicted a big Obama sweep. It's not their fault. The dirty secret is it is hard to accurately poll a primary. The unpredictability of who will turn out and what the mix of voters will be makes polling a primary election like reading chicken entrails -- ugly, smelly and not very enlightening. Our media culture endows polls -- especially exit polls -- with scientific precision they simply don't have.

FULL ARTICLE: http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119992615845679531.html

Related Article

F30d9d3568d99b16bc7479848481f2a6
December 04, 2025 |
Article
The GOP avoided disaster Tuesday in the special election to fill the Tennessee congressional seat left vacant by Republican Mark Green’s resignation. But the results should be a wake-up call for the party. ...
4a8ead3d0f7298673deb1273e574e42a
November 27, 2025 |
Article
Politics in America today are way too loud and much too small. The habits of serious leaders appear to have been discarded in favor of ever more exotic social media antics. ...
1312bb77d249b6584b2acf5dea4f8b6f
November 20, 2025 |
Article
The zig and zags of politics have been dizzying recently. But some of the turns seem to be in a good direction. ...
95fd80bd6654fc20a0a1c61f608e086b
November 13, 2025 |
Article
The longest government shutdown in history—and one of the stupidest—is thankfully ending. But the political warring over stupid ideas is hardly over. Both sides are busy with foolish internal fights. ...
Button karlsbooks
Button readinglist
Button nextapperance