Grrrrrrrrrrr. What does it freaking take for Gallup to lose its credibility? What does it take for a supposedly liberal news channel to stop breathlessly reporting Gallup's results?
Today it's the lead everywhere on MSNBC. "Gallup says presidential approval takes a hit!" From over 50 to 46. Well, that may be true, or it may not be true, but Gallup isn't the one we should be trusting to tell us anything.
We all know just how incompetent they've been in the last two elections, but in 2012 they really outdid themselves when it comes to underperforming. Just as a reminder, check out Nate Silver's ratings of the most effective pollsters, where Gallup is on the bottom of the list.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/...
Or this from a Fordham University study:
http://www.businessinsider.com/...
Gallup is 24th on this list, and PPP is #1. When googling I found this study to be sited on multiple sites. In other words, it's not some little study no one noticed. It's out there big and bold and all over the place. More than Nate Silver's findings, actually.
So. Again, why does MSNBC carry on as if Gallup is still a respectable and news worthy poll? I can understand why FOX and CNN do. And of course I understand that MSNBC is as corporate as the rest of them, interested in the horse race, ratings and profit.
However, MSNBC makes it's money by appealing to the left. Which means that they don't have much to lose by adhering to the old adage that facts have a liberal bias. To me, part of this is about the circle jerk of journalistic memes in this country, and it has every bit as much to do with laziness as politics.
Another aspect of this may be that once an entity has achieved iconic fame, it is very hard to lose, regardless of performance. Gallup is the Kleenex of pollsters, and perhaps retains its as American as apple pie image on the basis of sheer iconicism.
And most probably, it may just be that in-between elections Gallup becomes a very big fish in a small pond. It seems to me that Gallup stays in the game all year long, while many other pollsters fade after elections. Which brings me to ask Kos, where is PPP when you need them? Again, PPP was the most successful pollster of 2012---I want to hear what that guy has to say.
I don't doubt that the president's approval rating has taken a hit all things considered, perhaps a big hit. But Gallup isn't the organization I trust to gage that, and I can't help resent having their numbers blasted at me when their credibility issues should be very obvious to any voice from the left, whether that voice is in it for the money or not.