At one time, I considered political polls to be undependable, biased tools designed to influence public opinion rather than measure it. Now, god help me, I love the damned things.
The other day, a very nice person (gender redacted so as to help them maintain their employment) called to gauge my opinions on the Seattle mayor’s race.
Of all occupations, making junk phone calls is the least likely to confirm the inherent kindness of your fellow man. So it’s not surprising that when the interviewer realized I was not only willing to answer the full set of questions, but enthusiastic about the job, we quickly became phone buddies: like when asked for my general feelings about City Attorney Mark Sidran and I answered “negative.”
“Nobody likes him,” marveled the examiner.
Or when I was asked whether Mayor Paul Schell is arrogant. Yeah, somewhat, I said.
“Everybody thinks he’s arrogant,” was the reply. (In this manner, I also learned that the majority of persons contacted that evening were “leaning toward” voting for County Council member Greg Nickels in September.)
Equally revealing were the individual questions about candidates Nickels, Schell, Sidran, and City Council member and possible mayoral candidate Jan Drago. Is he (or she) weak? Has he accomplished much? Is he good in a crisis? Does he have a vision of where Seattle should be?
There were few surprises. One Nickels-only question inquired into his unflagging support for the Mariners stadium project, prompting a long digression about those M’s between myself and the interviewer. (Note to rival candidates: Barring a long losing streak, harping on this issue will only help Nickels.) Most hilarious of all were the negative statements about each candidate during the final part of the survey. Each was paired with a harmless alternative statement, such as: “Paul Schell didn’t learn from WTO and failed to control crowds at Mardi Gras; he was fast asleep in bed while a young man was beaten to death” OR “We need to work together and understand one another to settle Seattle’s racial divides.” (Ever the contrarian, I chose the latter statement.) Nickels’ blast had to do with his unsuccessful runs at other offices (“He’s just a politician”); Sidran’s called him an “overzealous prosecutor.” And Drago’s negative statement? Curiously, there wasn’t one.
Guess we know who paid for the poll.
