Greenberg's survey, for example, asks people who voted for Clinton to pick from a list of possible reasons why they did so. Penn and the DLC have been peddling the theory that Clinton did better than congressional Democrats in 1996 because he was less liberal. So in his survey, Penn asks people whether they regard Clinton and the congressional Democrats as liberal, moderate, or conservative. The point isn't that polls are dishonest. The point is that they disguise argument as science.
Politicians skew their politics to suit the polls.
Meanwhile, their pollsters skew the polls to suit their clients' politics. One profession's sophistry foils the other's cowardice. Just don't tell them. William Saletan is a Slate senior writer. Illustrations by Scott Cunningham.