Polls before the debate show a statistical tie. If you read any of my posts, the reasons are clear:

1. Most conservatives like me would not participate in a telephone poll

2. 30% more Dems are polled

3. 40% are young people some under voting age

4. The sample size is too small ----1000

5. the caller does not know whether you are black or other, so if the poller gets 50% blacks and 92% Blacks vote Dem, the poll in valid

The aol straw poll showed McCain 61 BO 38.

the number who participate was tens of thousands. Interestingly, the written comments were mostly for Obama, meaning that the silent majority favors Mac.

Mac in a landslide has been and will be my prediction no matter what the mainstream media tells us.

don't have a telephone and when communication is required of most conservatives like yourself, they shuffle on down to the park and scream at the squirrels or just open their front doors and swear at the Newspaper boy.

Is that when the Dow will hit 14,000??

Salty is SO full of crap it's difficult to understand how he convinces himself his delusions are true.

Newsflash to Salty:It is a typical statistical sample of 1100 that produces a 95% confidence level. This is the STANDARD SAMPLE for polls.

Note that Salty has no facts to back up his claims about young voters or his claim that 30% more Dems are polled.

gmajesko:

Polls before the debate show a statistical tie. If you read any of my posts, the reasons are clear:

1. Most conservatives like me would not participate in a telephone poll

2. 30% more Dems are polled

3. 40% are young people some under voting age

4. The sample size is too small ----1000

And you know all of this how?

Just becase you posted it elsewhere on Slate does not necessarily mean it is true. Cite your sources.

If you took statistics 101 you may think that 1000 is legitimate. True if you are sampling jelly beans and you want to determine the mix of colors.

Getting a legitimate sample in polling for elections requires tens of thousands of people---like Mary's poll in 04 which predicted exactly Bush/Kerry and Aol poll recently which shows Mac 61 BO 38

YOU ARE A GENIOUS. Every one is stupid and you are the only one knows everything.Good for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I meant how do you know that they only poll 1000 people? How do you know that 30% of them are democrats? Where are you getting this information? And while we're on the topic, how do you know that 10,000 people actually participated in the AOL poll? Maybe 10 people sat in front of their computers and responded 1000 times each.