The Associated Press
Yes, I think Petraeus's sober assessment is helpful
21% (129 votes)
Not really, since I already had a favorable opinion of the man and I support the war
21% (128 votes)
No, I think the general is trying to put lipstick on a pig
41% (247 votes)
No, I didn't hear the general's testimony, and I probably won't read his report, so my mind is thoroughly unchanged
16% (98 votes)
Thoughts
Who wrote the "stupid answer" response?
Submitted on April 10th, 2008 by AnonymousMy name is Sage Cash. I'm 18 years old and I love expresing my opinion.
If you don't like the way the votes are written, don't respond to them. Move on with what you think and maybe your day would go smoother.Why would you try to tell someone they don't know how to do there job? Who cares if your a computer analysis? If you don't like the article, then shut up about it.
I think General Patraeus, is
Submitted on April 9th, 2008 by AnonymousI think General Patraeus, is doing what a general does in the armed forces, he says how it is , instead of sugar coating everything . these ensurgents are like cancer, each cell has to be distroyed or the cancer just keeps coming back, the biggest problem I think our troops are facing is lack of support from us. Dont bitch about something enless you are willing to be the one to change it , and i think all these appinionated people, need to step back and think real hard about what would happen if we pull completely out? if there is resistants now while we are there, and they are killing us and their own people left and right with no remorse of who they hurt(the college students, the market place bombings were children are playing,etc) if we just up and left , we are leaving these people like sitting ducks to just be massacred. and just leave them free to hurt us with another major attack, or other countries. we are not at war with a country we are at war with a extreme idealist.
Stupid Answers
Submitted on April 9th, 2008 by AnonymousThese answers are clearly written by someone with an agenda. The adjectives within each answer are a blatant attempt to get an opinion across/manipulate the people who have read this survey. Surveys should be completely neutral and cover all ranges of answers even middle grounds instead of extremes. Please get a better staff.
Thank goodness these polls are not actually scientific!
Submitted on April 9th, 2008 by BenYou make an excellent point, data analyst. The discerning reader would, I hope, draw the same conclusion you did about the ratio of positive to negative responses.
We're keenly aware of the wording issue. Well, I am, anyway. Joel can speak for himself. When I write up these polls, I try to keep a couple of things in mind. First, I want to have more than just a couple of constrained options if I can. In the case of this poll, "yes," "no" and "I don't know/undecided" weren't sufficient. It's often "Yes, but..." or "No, because..." There are at least two possible yes answers to the question. A war critic or skeptic could have his or her mind changed by Petraeus's testimony. A war supporter is unlikely to have his or her mind changed, but answer affirmatively.
You're probably right about that other option, though. I'll keep that in mind for the next poll.
I added the fourth option as a bit of a nose-tweak, since I included a link to the Petraeus report right below it. Really, at this point, people have no excuse. The information is out there.
But you must know, too, that these polls are anything but scientific. The samples are self-selecting and, because we allow anonymous users to participate, demographically skewed. The polls serve no greater purpose other than to "take the temperature" of RedBlueAmerica readers and to spark discussion.
Surveys
Submitted on April 9th, 2008 by AnonymousAs a data analyst, I am always amused as to how questions and choices are presented in surveys. The positive choice here was split into two responses while there was only one negative choice. At this time, the votes are too low to draw any conclusion, however, looking at the counts currently on the screen, it appears that more people disapprove of the report. Actually the results are 48% approve (combining the positives), 40% disapprove with 12% undecided. If you were wanting to see true results, the first two options should have been combined or an additional option should have been added: "Not really, since I don't trust the man and I am against the war."