We are in the process of selecting the next President of the United States, the "Leader of the Free World", a man who will guide this country through some very difficult times, not a drinking buddy. So stop asking who we'd rather have a beer with. That's an insultingly stupid question. It cheapens the discourse.
But that's not the stupid polling question that's been bothering me this election cycle. No. The stupid question that I wish the pollsters would stop asking is any version of the following:
Is America ready for a (fill in the blank) president?
Last night on Hardball, Chris Matthew cited a poll that found 17% of Americans don't think we're ready to elect a black president. Matthews and his guest (can't remember his name/transcript not yet available) agreed that this spells big trouble for Senator Obama. But that's a stupid stupid question that says nothing about Obama's chances of getting elected and I'll tell you why.
I'm an Obama supporter. I will vote for him in November. But if a pollster called me and asked "Is America ready for a black president?", I might answer no, I don't think America is ready. I might be of the opinion that there is still too much racial animus in this country for a black man to break through. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to vote for him. It just means that I, personally, am a bit pessimistic when it comes to what I, personally, think about the level of racism in the country.
For that question to have any validity whatsoever, you would have to ask someone who has actually gone out and polled Americans on the question that pollsters should be asking. Namely, "Are YOU ready for a black president?" Unless I've actually conducted polling on that question, then asking me what America thinks is asking me to speculate. And what good is a poll based upon speculation about what other people may or may not do? Once again, the question pollsters should be asking is "Are YOU ready for a black president?"
Now I understand pollsters are framing the question to counter the perceived Bradley Effect-- the belief that a certain percentage of respondents will claim to be open-minded on the subject of race rather than admit to a personal racial bias. The implication is that the person being polled is not telling the truth. But if you're polling people who you suspect might be lying to you, what the hell is the point of polling in the first place?
So, please, pollsters, in the future, ask me if I'm ready to vote for a black president and trust that I'll tell you the truth.
FYI, I found the following data on a recent CBS poll asking the stupid version of the question:
BARACK OBAMA, RACE, AND THE 2008 ELECTION
May 30 - June 3, 2008
IS AMERICA READY FOR A BLACK PRESIDENT?
(Among registered voters)
Now 3/2008 1/2008 2/2000
Yes 68% 62% 54% 38%
No 23 30 31 53
According to this poll, as of June 3, 23% of Americans answered "no." So the 17% who answered "no" in the more recent poll cited by Matthews is actually GOOD NEWS FOR... BARACK OBAMA if you beleive that the results say anything about how voters will actually vote. As far as I'm concerned, the shrinking percentage only points to the fact that more and more Americans might be thinking that more and more of their friends and neighbors might be getting more and more comfortable with the idea of the possibility of a President Barack Obama. So if this poll means anything at all, it means that all the concerned hand-wringing by Matthews et. al. is a bit overwrought.
By the way, I tried calling several pollsters to research this diary, but they all hung up on me. Go figure...