Gallup, once the unquestionable icon, the gold standard of public polling, in recent years seems to have suffered a bout of conservative partisan leaning, and with it, in some circles, a loss of prestige and credibility. Take, for example, the Gallup home page from Thursday evening:
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In chronological order, Gallup ran articles with these headlines:
May 15, 2012
Americans See Obama as Solid Favorite to Win Election
May 16, 2012
National Mood a Drag on Obama’s Re-Election Prospects
May 16, 2012
Americans’ Optimism About Their Financial Future Recovers
May 17, 2012
U.S. Unemployment Edges Down in Mid-May
Gallup in its Daily Tracking column also noted an increase in “happiness” of two points.
And speaking of happiness, Gallup reported just one week ago, “Americans’ Emotional Health Reaches Four-Year High.”
So, why is the national mood supposedly such “a drag on Obama’s re-election prospects,” when “Americans see Obama as solid favorite to win election,” “happiness” is up, “Americans’ emotional health reaches four-year high,” “American’s optimism about their financial future recovers,” and “unemployment edges down”?
Gallup Thursday also reported that Mitt Romney’s favorable ratings jumped an amazing 11 percentage points since February. That is truly amazing.
Truly amazing, since on Monday Gallup reported, “Dems Happier With Obama Than Republicans Are With Romney.”
Perhaps the answer simply lies in this Gallup headline.
Seriously, Gallup, stop yanking America’s chain.
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