Redux

Classicman...with all due respect, your post suggest that you dont understand what is meant by the "data is weighted" after the sampling.

That is how pollsters account for the discrepancies you mentioned. If more Rs responded to a poll then Ds (there are more registered Ds in the country than Rs) or more from the NE than the SW, they would "weight" the results to more accurately reflect the national profile. I dont claim to be an expert, but I do remember that from Polling 101.

A 95% confidence level within maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points is pretty damn high by any statistical standards.

And no, I like polls because they tell me something about the what the American public is thinking about a political issue of the day.

Lately, they have reinforced my own opinions. For much of the early 00s, that was not the case, but I found them to be equally meaningful.

But, hey, if you dont think they have much value...thats fine with me.