If you really want a case study in how wacky poll results can be, check out the latest contradictory generic ballot polls. Pew, USA Today/Gallup and ABC News/Washington Post have the Democratic lead among likely voters in the 4-7 point range, while Newsweek and Time have it in the 15-16 point range. The polls not only contradict each other as far as the numbers are concerned, but also in terms of their trajectory. The Pew poll “finds voting intentions shifting in the direction of Republican congressional candidates in the final days of the 2006 midterm campaign,” while Newsweek says “Republican candidates are falling further behind Democratic rivals.”
