Back To Old Tricks?

by Steve Soto

I'm sure the GOP will make a great deal over any poll result that shows voters trust McCain more to deal with terrorism than Obama, like the most recent USA Today/Gallup poll does. But before anyone goes overboard on this poll, keep in mind that Gallup used a sample that had only a four-point edge for Democrats over Republicans (34%-30%), at the same time when the ABC News/Washington Post poll reported a 14-point edge for Democrats over Republicans in self-identification.

Those who have read this blog a while know I dealt with the issue of a possible Gallup oversampling of Republicans to skew the conventional wisdom in Bush's favor back during the 2004 election. Sure, pollsters determine party identification differently, but the difference between a four-point and fourteen-point party ID advantage is pretty significant. And it's not like Gallup hasn't been down this path before.