ABC News / WaPo Poll is Bullshit: Here's Why.

This is part of the phone script for part of the now infamous ABC News/WaPo (full survey here) reporting that over 60% of Americans "approve" of NSA collecting domestic phone records.

3. What do you think is more important right now - (for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy); or (for the federal government not to intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate possible terrorist threats)?

4. It's been reported that the National Security Agency has been collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. It then analyzes calling patterns in an effort to identify possible terrorism suspects, without listening to or recording the conversations. Would you consider this an acceptable or unacceptable way for the federal government to investigate terrorism? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?

They set up a false dichotomy: either you believe in personal privacy or stopping terrorism.  That's bullshit.

This is one of the most egregious examples of misleading polling from a major news organization that I have ever seen.  Polling experts have known for decades that the order in which questions are asked can cause extreme bias: see e.g., Wiseman, 1972 and McFarland, 1981. The designers of the ABCNEWS/WaPo poll are no doubt well aware of this.  Could they have possibly done a worse job of positioning that question in order to bias results?  

Message to any Dem Pols/Journos/Wonks who might be reading this: do not buy the administration spin.  It is not supported by a valid poll.  This isssue is not a "third rail" -- they want you to think that if you push this issue as an infringement against our privacy that you will suffer the political consequences.  America is not behind the president on this.   Keep pushing!