A recent Zogby poll presented to 1,009 likely voters has been spun and twisted to misrepresent the real story here.
What's the real story? Ron Paul wins big with likely voters across the spectrum when compared with Romney, Guiliani and Thompson when using Blind Bios. 33% for Paul compared to 19% for Giuliani, 15% for Romney, and 13% for Thompson.
How does Zogby spin the results? See for yourself.
Zogby International was commissioned to poll all likely voters, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, using 'Blind Bios' for Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Rudolph Guiliani. 'Blind Bios' present those polled with a short resume of the candidate but refrain from using their name.
Each candidate was represented by a blind bio which read as follows:
Candidate A is a 10-term US Congressman from a large Southern state who is an advocate for a smaller government and individual liberty. This candidate believes in strictly following the Constitution and has never voted to raise taxes. He has never voted in favor of the war in Iraq or the Patriot Act, and wants to bring troops home as soon as possible. As a former doctor, this candidate has delivered more than 4,000 babies. One of this candidate's goals is to return America to the gold standard, and he believes that the current monetary policy needs to be drastically overhauled because of the dollar's decline.
Candidate B is a former governor from a Democratic state in the Northeast. Before that, he was credited for essentially saving the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He is a Mormon and family man who is considered a moderate-to-conservative member of the GOP. While Governor, he signed the first state laws in the nation requiring all citizens of this state to obtain health insurance. He is a strong supporter of keeping troops in Iraq although he has been critical of how the war has been handled.
Candidate C is a former two-term senator from a Southern state who was a long-time lobbyist before running for public office. He was chief Republican council for the Congressional committee that investigated Watergate in the early 1970s. He was an actor playing supporting roles in several major motion pictures before entering the Senate, and returned to a prominent role as a New York City prosecutor in a popular network television series after leaving office. He has mostly supported the war in Iraq, but has said he would have managed it differently.
Candidate D is a former two-term mayor of a major city in the Northeast, and is considered a moderate member of the party on social issues. As Mayor, he presided over a dramatic drop in crime in his city, and is best known for his leadership in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He established a worldwide security consulting business after leaving public office at the end of 2001 He has been a supporter of President Bush since leaving office and supports the war in Iraq.
The results show that Paul wins by a large margin.
Zogby also included a much smaller poll of 389 Likely Republican Primary voters that had Guiliani winning with 34%, Thompson and Romney with 22% each and Ron Paul with 13%.
Zogby leads their coverage of this poll with the headline "Zogby Poll: Giuliani Leads Among Republicans in Latest Blind Bio Survey"
And sub-headline: "Survey pits resumes of former New York mayor against those of Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, and Fred Thompson"
What? No mention of darkhorse candidate Paul trouncing Guiliani by a double digit spread with the main poll?
And if you thought the spin ends there, just look at the Zogby Poll as posted on their website. See if you can find the results of the main poll. Only detailed results of the much smaller poll are linked with the story.
Hey Zogby! I thought you were supposed to be neutral here? And where is the data for the main poll?