"Food for though. If the media is biased, and the media has an agenda, and the media uses their front page reporting to forward their agenda, wouldn't the polling conducted by those organizations be suspect as well?
If I were the head of CNN, Time, Newsweek, or the like, wouldn't I use my polls in the same way that I use my reporting?
I can't wrap my mind around some vast conspiracy theories where showing a big bounce for Bush really helps Kerry in the long run. But seriously, if I don't trust these guys to give me the straight story on national events, why would I trust their polls?"
Sure they do. And I can show you how CNN, Time etc will use this BIG BUSH lead.
They will run with the double digit Bush lead. Then they will show much closer to the election a slight Bush lead but just a few points....clearly showing Kerry is gaining strength. Then right before the election they will report Kerry with a 7 point lead...clearly showing he's the winner and all the bandwagon (you know Iowa, NH and SC type voters...and there are MANY) voters will think Kerry is the winner and you just swayed a nation to vote for John Kerry...not through anything he did but rather the perceived image the nation thinks he is the winner.
The unfortunate thing is news companies commissioning a poll to MAKE news. This is very disturbing actually. They should be reporting on news that happens...not creating news to report.
Remember whenever you see a MSNBC, CNN, USATODAY, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOXNEWS, etc....in a poll it has a bias built into it by the news agency itself. That is one reason I have always like Rasmussen but I think his methodology is a bit off.