Monday, September 22, 2008

I got a call from a pollster...

A quick aside- dontcha just love how when the "No-Call List" legislation was written, the politicians exempted themselves from it? Anyway... here's how it went:

Her: Do you intend to vote in the Presidential election this year?

Me: Yes.

Her: Are you going to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama?

Me: Neither one.

Her: Then you're undecided?

Me: No, I've decided.

Her: Then are you going to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama?

Me: There are five Presidential candidates on the Indiana ballot, you know. And eight more allowable write-ins. I'm not going to vote for either McCain or Obama; I'm voting for one of the other eleven.

Her: That's not a choice on my sheet.

Me: Well, it should be.

Her: I'll put you down as undecided. Does supporting abortion rights make you more or less likely to vote for that candidate?

Me: It's not a consideration.

Her: What do you mean?

Me: I mean abortion isn't one of my issues. I don't care where they stand. Put me down as undecided.

Her: Undecided isn't one of the choices for this question.

Me: Imagine my surprise.

Her: Then what do I put down?

Me: I don't care; pick one.

Her: Ummm...

It kind of went downhill from there. I actually did try to cooperate with her as best as I could- but given the nature of her questions, my best wasn't very good. I couldn't help wondering as she continued if this was one of those polls that would determine that Obama would have 75% of the vote if it weren't for racism.

5 comments:

ogre said...

Damned UUs, expecting forms that make sense, spaces to be the shape of the things to go in them...

I hear you on this one.

We're currently--I think--without health insurance. Not because of anything we've done nor anything we failed to do, or even because we were rejected. Systems telling us all was well (and then, after deadlines, telling us they're not). Forms that we have to fill out right now--only none of the boxes (check ONE!) describe the right situation.

But that was a really badly designed poll (or... an intentionally badly designed poll...).

Do you know what company was doing it?

Joel Monka said...

No, but I'm pretty sure, from the rest of the questions, that it was the local Democratic party trying to get a handle on the Indiana Governor's race. Indiana is the ticket-splittingest state in the nation, and the polls have Obama ahead- but so is Republican Governor Daniels. I think they are trying to find some way to use Obama's coattails for the Democratic challenger for governor, and it isn't working yet.

Chalicechick said...

I have a lot of conversations that sound like that.

CC

Bill Baar said...

It's an amature pollster. They shouldn't be going back-and-forth with you like that.

MissChrisB said...

Why do I never get the fun annoying phone calls? ::pout::