Funniest Line Of The Day: The New York Times Tries To Put Down Rasmussen

by John Hawkins | January 8, 2010 7:56 am

This line, from a New York Times article[1] on the Scott Brown/Martha Coakley race in Massachusetts (Click here[2] to make some calls for Brown), made me chuckle:

The poll that suggested Ms. Coakley’s lead was narrowing, which was conducted by Rasmussen Reports and does not meet the polling standards of The New York Times because it relied on automated telephone calls, suggested Mr. Brown had strikingly strong support among independent voters.

You are also likely to let out a long, throaty, politically geeky laugh after seeing the New York Times talking about how Rasmussen doesn’t meet their “polling standards” after you see these numbers[3]:

The following list ranks the 23 organizations by the accuracy of their final, national preelection polls (in 2008):

1. Rasmussen (11/1-3)**
1. Pew (10/29-11/1)**
2. YouGov/Polimetrix (10/18-11/1)
3. Harris Interactive (10/20-27)
4. GWU (Lake/Tarrance) (11/2-3)*
5. Diageo/Hotline (10/31-11/2)*
5. ARG (10/25-27)*
6. CNN/Opinion Research (10/30-11/1)
6. Ipsos/McClatchy (10/30-11/1)
7. DailyKos.com (D)/Research 2000 (11/1-3)
8. AP/Yahoo/KN (10/17-27)
9. Democracy Corps (D) (10/30-11/2)
10. FOX News/Opinion Dynamics (11/1-2)
11. Economist/YouGov (10/25-27)
12. IBD/TIPP (11/1-3)
13. NBC/WSJ (11/1-2)
14. ABC/Washington Post (10/30-11/2)
15. Marist College (11/3)
16. CBS (10/31-11/2)
17. Gallup (10/31-11/2)
18. Reuters/ C-SPAN/ Zogby (10/31-11/3)
19. CBS/NY Times (10/25-29)
20. Newsweek (10/22-23)

Note who came in first, who came in nineteenth, and then ask yourself whether anyone at the New York Times should be making snide comments about anyone else’s “polling standards,” especially Rasmussen’s.