On the Only Poll that Counts...
"There are many who think the presidential election is over. Though their reasoning is simple and straightforward enough -- most polls show that Bob Dole trails President Clinton -- they are wrong. It should be remembered that poll-watching is the most rudimentary form of punditry, often less accurate even than other forms of punditry -- and that's saying something. The only way that Mr. Dole's chances are over is if his supporters make the mistake of believing the polls and getting themselves discouraged. They should remember these two truisms: The only poll that counts is the one taken in the ballot box (trite but true); polls are often wrong."
--The Washington Times editorial for 10/10/96. Received via C-News
on 10/15/96.
On Election Polling...
"I have gathered a few stories about polling today that lead me to believe that pollsters are calling folks that believe in what they are selling. The short version is that if you say nice things about their selected candidate and evil things about the opponent, you will get polled a lot by their side - which will end up skewing the overall results. If you don't, you won't get very many polls at all. I said wonderful things about a state senate liberal last weekend and have been called twice since then. A friend of mine told a pollster that Bill Clinton is a God and has been fielding many calls since then."
--Alex Gimarc in Interesting Items 10/16/96. Received via C-News
on 10/16/96.
On Media Satire...
"Mr. President, we here at ABC News are not in the business of making endorsements, but everyone here is voting for Bill Clinton, and I personally cannot imagine how any decent person would not, in fact, do the same. In the light of this, which of your many achievements do you feel important to emphasize as we head toward the election?"
--Tom Hanks, posing as ABC's Peter Jennings, in a spoofing the media's
coverage of Bill Clinton for Saturday Night Live. This was taken from
an article by L. Brent Bozell III in the Washington Times National
Weekly Edition, P 36. Received from TOSN on 10/22/96.
On Honesty's Place at the White House...
"In his first debate with GOP candidate Bob Dole, Clinton also said the AHA [American Hospital Association] had estimated 700 hospitals across the country would be likely to close under Republican plans for Medicare and Medicaid reform. The statistic was repeated later in the week by Vice President Al Gore in his debate with GOP candidate Jack Kemp. The use of the statistic, however, is not accurate, according to an AHA spokesperson, who also said the White House had been informed of this fact last week. Asked why Clinton continued to refer to the figure in last night's debate, the spokesperson said; 'We're in a political campaign.' "
--The White House Bulletin, 10/17/96. Received via C-News on 10/21/96.
On Choosing Your Friends...
"Now then, right after his trip to the White house they caught him with 5,828 pounds of cocaine. Don't you think we should set a higher standard? ... The White House had to know about the prior arrests. They had to know about his connections to the Cali cartel. But hey, this guy gave 20,000 bucks, so let him come on in, right?"
--Ross Perot, in a speech delivered 10/24/96 at the National Press Club.
Washington Times, 10/25/96. Page A16.