In a new poll released this week only 25 percent of Americans believe political polls accurately predict election results. You probably don’t believe that. At least that’s what the poll tells us.
The POLITICO poll was conducted by PF Global from October 24-26, surveying 2,083 U.S. adults online. The margin of error was plus or minus two percentage points.
Why do we have polls? We interview five hundred people or 2,083 people, who have way too much free time, or who want to mess with pollsters, and from that we extrapolate trends for millions of voters. What could go wrong?
I’ve never participated in a poll. When an unrecognized number shows up, I decline the call and sometimes block the number. I’m sorry Cousin Arnie, I just didn’t recognize your number.
So, if we aren’t participating, and if we don’t believe them anyway, why are we inundated with polls on news sites, and why do we care?
But we do care; we seem to like those polls. So, in response to that interest, I would like to share some polls I’ve conducted, with even smaller sample sizes. I have not complied with any complicated sampling techniques, and I didn’t pester anyone with annoying questions about their age, income level, educational background, or current political affiliation.
I simply wanted to know what people thought about some issues, so I asked. Now I’m ready to share my findings with you. I hear there is about a 75 percent chance you won’t believe the results.
One recent Mac poll found that 72 percent of Americans have grown weary of hearing how everything from grocery prices to the war in Iran is the fault of someone no longer in office. The remaining 28 percent didn’t answer our calls because Joe Biden raised phone rates to levels like we have never seen before.
A related poll found that 66 percent of U.S. potential voters believe that POTUS, nearly two years into a second term, should be accountable for something… anything. The rest believe that the Supreme Court ruled that there is now immunity for presidential accountability.
A financial poll asked Americans about grocery prices, gas prices, and take-home pay. Results showed that 97 percent of Americans think grocery prices should be lower, gas prices should be lower, and paychecks should be higher. The other three percent were oil company executives, grocery chain owners, and people selling crypto, meme coins, sneakers, and bibles.
In a September poll, I asked ordinary Americans to identify the three most important things President Trump has accomplished during his second term.
While the list was long, the five most frequent responses were renaming things, tearing down things, building unnecessary things, modifying things that didn’t need modifying, and telling all of us how wonderful things are. Some other responses included talking about the Nobel Peace prize and ogling men’s bodies at political rallies. One individual mentioned the Melania movie.
Surprisingly, not one respondent mentioned stopping the Ukraine war on day-one, paying down the national debt, or holding Russia accountable for war crimes.
In the comments section, many people expressed the wish that the president would spend taxpayer money fixing problems instead of creating monuments to himself. Others, however, noted how much they liked tacky gold accents in the White house, apparently impressed by the tacky gold accents in the White House.
Regarding foreign policy, my poll found that 76 percent of Americans believe the United States should support allies like Canada, Denmark, and Ukraine, and that American leaders should not cozy up to autocratic dictators who invade neighboring countries. Of the remaining participants, 20 percent were unsure and the final four percent were unavailable because they were attending a Chamber of Commerce networking event with Vladimir Putin.
In another poll, I asked 1,000 Americans whether they thought the Epstein files should be released in their entirety, with appropriate protections for victims. Eighty-four percent said absolutely, why not? Thirteen percent said we’ve distracted folks with wars and tariffs; maybe we should cut down 400 trees at an existing Washington golf course as a new distraction? And three percent were busy checking to see how many times their names were in the files.
Finally, I asked Americans whether they believe the president should be held to the same ethical, moral, and legal standards as regular Americans. Ninety-three percent said yes. The other seven percent said they’d have to check with the president’s legal team and noted that they’d be willing to accept a pardon if they got the answer wrong.
Polls are snapshots, not crystal balls. They measure opinions at a particular moment in time, but they don’t guarantee anything. Many polls have been wrong, sometimes spectacularly so. But that doesn’t stop us from treating every new poll like breaking news.
Because in today’s America, many Americans, on the left and/or on the right, don’t believe anything they read, hear, or see unless it confirms what they already believe. Facts are negotiable, statistics are political weapons, and the truth depends on which television channel you watch, or worse, which social media influencer you follow.
If a poll favors your candidate, it proves that America is finally getting it right. If not, the poll is fake, rigged, biased, or conducted by some nut who doesn’t know what he’s doing. (you just read examples of that).
So, let’s forget the polls. We don’t believe them anyway. Whether you vote red or you vote blue, consider what’s best for our country and make your voice heard. It’s your right. So, VOTE!!
I’ll leave you with one question I had about the Politico poll, which I never heard addressed on any newscast: Where did Politico find 2,083 Americans to take a poll to find out that 75 percent of them didn’t believe the results?
Curt MacRae is a resident of Coldwater, MI and publishes opinion columns regularly.
To be notified by email when a column is published, or to offer feedback: rantsbymac@gmail.com
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