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Polling Cats and Dogs

By TChris, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Thu Sep 07, 2006 at 09:24:56 AM EST
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by TChris

If you want to make sure a political candidate is happy with poll results, why not make up the data?

The owner of DataUSA Inc., a company that conducted political polls for the campaigns of President Bush, Sen. Joe Lieberman and other candidates, pleaded guilty to fraud for making up survey and poll results. ... According to a federal indictment, Costin told employees to alter poll data, and managers at the company told employees to ''talk to cats and dogs'' when instructing them to fabricate the surveys.

How the cats and dogs felt about Bush and Lieberman is unknown.

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    • Polling Cats and Dogs | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: Polling Cats and Dogs (none / 0) (#1)
    by jimakaPPJ on Thu Sep 07, 2006 at 11:07:47 AM EST
    Hmmm - Sounds to me like Lieberman and Bush are the harmed parties. Were these people Demos, planted by MoveOn to provide false data? Inquiring minds want to know. ;-) Otherwise, suspicions confirmed.

    Re: Polling Cats and Dogs (none / 0) (#2)
    by roy on Thu Sep 07, 2006 at 11:42:01 AM EST
    I'm with Jim on this one. This:
    If you want to make sure a political candidate is happy with poll results, why not make up the data?
    is sloppy, bordering on just plain dumb. Nothing in the linked article or the indictment (PDF) suggests that the polls were manipulated to create more pleasing results. They cheated in order to meet deadlines and quotas, to get paid without doing their jobs.

    Re: Polling Cats and Dogs (none / 0) (#3)
    by John Mann on Thu Sep 07, 2006 at 12:29:28 PM EST
    I don't understand why anyone would be dumb enough to make up the results when it's just as easy to manipulate the questions to achieve the desired results. Anyway, isn't that what they usually do?

    Re: Polling Cats and Dogs (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Sep 07, 2006 at 10:40:33 PM EST
    Are they really lying to thier clients or were they lying to the media and the public under orers from thier clients? The benefits of a favorable poll in creating a "band wagon" effect or in dulling the impact of an oppenents poll or in generating a boost in fundraising cannot be underestimated. As with the phone jamming in New Hampshire and any number of other dirty and dishonest practices the rethuglicans ( i.e. lieberman) have shown thier willingness to violate any ethical standard or break any law in thier blind pursuit of power.

    Polling Cats and Dogs | 4 comments (4 topical)