In this succinct and damning critique of the pitfalls of public opinion reporting, Moore (How to Steal an Election
), former senior editor of the Gallup Poll, argues that today’s polls report the whims rather than the will of the people due to an intrinsic methodological problem: poll results don’t differentiate between “those who express deeply held views and those who have hardly, if at all, thought about an issue.” Thus, respondents are compelled to provide an ill-considered, “top-of-mind response” because the method does not offer the option of expressing no opinion. In Moore’s view, forced-choice polls not only distort public opinion, they create a “legitimacy spin cycle,” which damages U.S. democracy by “manufacturing a public consensus to serve those in power.” Keen and witty throughout, his prose turns bitter as he condemns journalists, insisting they are fully aware of the polling flaws but turn a blind eye because “they like sharply divided groups and extreme reactions.” However correct his claim and justified his outrage, his proposed antidote—that the media ought to enlighten its audience to its own ignorance—feels more like a pipe dream than a practical prescription. (Sept.)
