Wednesday, March 4, 2009

How not to interpret numbers 101

Commentary from an esteemed C4H colleague:

Reading the WSJ today about a poll where more people believe the country is on the wrong track than the right -

“The survey shows that 41% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction, up dramatically from 26% in mid-January, before Mr. Obama took office, and up from 12% before the election. The number who say the country is on the "wrong track" is still higher at 44%, but given the economic conditions, pollsters expected it to be much higher”

Guess what the headline was…"Obama Gets Strong Support in Poll"

Can you imagine what the headline would have been 2 years ago?

  • Public Continues to Lack Faith in Bush
  • Market and Polls say the Same Thing – Bush Stinks
  • Poll Shows Country is Failing Thanks to Bush

We should be talking about an Accuracy Doctrine instead of the Fairness Doctrine. Sorry for the early morning rant. I really did sleep well. Here’s the whole article if you want to try and stomach it: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123612000246123253.html

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