Romney Gets Push-Polled

Ah, push polling. Bane of the politician's existence. I have been the target of it in every campaign I've conducted. Now, Iowa front-runner Mitt Romney is the target in both Iowa and New Hampshire. These calls raise the Mormon issue and Vietnam-era deferments received by Mitt when he was a missionary.

The calls all follow the same format. The pollster asks the caller to identify who they are supporting in an upcoming race. A few more questions may be asked to make the push poll seem like a "real" poll.

Then things get ugly.

The "pollster" acts the recipient a series of questions framed as such: "would you be more or less likely to support (targeted candidate) if you knew he ran a camp indoctrinating cute, innocent puppies into the communist party?"

The shocked caller gives a response. Next question:

"Would you be more or less likely to support (targeted candidate) if you knew that he laughed and applauded when Marie Osmond fainted on 'Dancing With The Stars'"?

There may be two negative points...there may be five. In my own experience as a target of the calls, the points DON'T EVEN NEED TO BE TRUE. They only need to plant an idea in the mind of the caller.

I've seen push polls go where no other type of campaign advertising would--questions about race, a candidate's sexual preference, religion, etc.

It's hard to convince a candidate that this is proof of front-runner status. It's one "accolade" we'd rather do without.