Trying to see into the Mind's Eye

Most pundits would agree the presidential race has tightened up considerably since the first debate between Obama and Romney on October 3, but Gallup went one big step further in posting a seven-point lead for Romney in last week's poll, which came out after the second debate. This seems to fly in the face of what many pundits considered a victory for Obama. "Why is that?" the Washington Post asked Frank Newport of the Gallup Poll,

“I think we’re still seeing leftover positive support for Romney and I don’t think we’re seeing impact yet from the second debate,”

Since the Gallup Poll is a 7-day tracking poll, there is apparently a lag in the results, unlike other daily tracking polls. Nevertheless, these numbers have given Romney and his supporters a huge boost, while it has left Team Obama scratching its collective head.

"Gallup" apparently still considers itself a fiercely independent polling service even if the Gallups no longer own any part of the poll. The family sold the poll to a Nebraska data collecting service back in 1988, after the death of George Gallup in 1984, and since then it has essentially been made into a worldwide marketing tool, taking advantage of the time honored name. Gallup, Inc. was established in 1958, combining the various polling services created by Mr. Gallup.

Here's a Christian Science Monitor article from earlier this year on the nature of Polling.

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