Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Polls II
OK, here's perhaps something to back up my conspiracy or not. Depending on your opinion on semantics.
In todays herald we have the result to a question which I assume they polled over the telephone.
The questions:
Was it OK of Helen Clark to call Don Brash's politics 'corrosive and cancerous'?
NO 73.6% YES 20.1%
Do you think Don Brash is right to call Labour 'corrupt' for using public funds to finance its election pledge card?
YES 71.8% NO 38.4%
Well the general opinion seems fairly clear but I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have made more sense from a 'scientific' point of view to word the questions in exactly the same way. I reckon those questions are designed to make people more likely to go with NO on the first one and YES on the second one.
ie.
Do you think Helen Clark is right to call Don Brash's politics 'corrosive and cancerous'?
OR
Was it OK of Don Brash to call Labour 'corrupt' for using public funds to finance its election pledge card?
I'm pretty sure these polls deliberately aim to cause controversy/boost ratings/ readership. And the best way to do that is to cause maximum damage/embarrassment to the ruling party. And I also believe that those thinking up and writing the poll questions slant their work to do just that.
And if National was in power they'd probably be doing the same.
Nice conspiracy theory OR JUST PLAIN FUCKING OBVIOUS??!! I'll be the judge.
In todays herald we have the result to a question which I assume they polled over the telephone.
The questions:
Was it OK of Helen Clark to call Don Brash's politics 'corrosive and cancerous'?
NO 73.6% YES 20.1%
Do you think Don Brash is right to call Labour 'corrupt' for using public funds to finance its election pledge card?
YES 71.8% NO 38.4%
Well the general opinion seems fairly clear but I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't have made more sense from a 'scientific' point of view to word the questions in exactly the same way. I reckon those questions are designed to make people more likely to go with NO on the first one and YES on the second one.
ie.
Do you think Helen Clark is right to call Don Brash's politics 'corrosive and cancerous'?
OR
Was it OK of Don Brash to call Labour 'corrupt' for using public funds to finance its election pledge card?
I'm pretty sure these polls deliberately aim to cause controversy/boost ratings/ readership. And the best way to do that is to cause maximum damage/embarrassment to the ruling party. And I also believe that those thinking up and writing the poll questions slant their work to do just that.
And if National was in power they'd probably be doing the same.
Nice conspiracy theory OR JUST PLAIN FUCKING OBVIOUS??!! I'll be the judge.
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