Gary Pearce posted on October 02, 2012 13:53
Republicans unhappy with Obama-leaning polls are resorting to what one wit called “the time-honored practice of making things up.” Led by Dick Morris, they engage in imaginative re-engineering of poll results to make things look better for Mitt Romney.
I asked a Democratic pollster I trust about the Republican revisionism. His reply:
“I suspect Romney has a few ‘hidden’ votes (as do most challengers, especially challengers opposing incumbents favored by the media), and Romney has an opportunity to quiet some of the doubt about him in the debates. The latter would help him in two ways. Republicans would be somewhat more likely to participate in polls, and he will begin converting some of the ‘undecided’ voters who are not willing to commit to the incumbent.”
But there’s no arguing that leading independent polls – and the averages of reliable polls – show that Obama has opened up a lead. And swing voters just don’t like or trust Romney.
It’s still close. But close isn’t so close in presidential races. Voters already know about all they’re going to know about both Romney and President Obama. That leaves little room for movement.
One national reporter told me last week he’s looking at coming to North Carolina just because it’s one of the few battleground states where Romney is still within the margin of error.
Maybe the debates will change things. Maybe the media will just get tired of writing the same story and see a Romney comeback.
One way or another, Romney can still win. Even if you don’t make stuff up.