Faith and Polling

Jeff Taylor | November 1, 2004

Just wanted to clear up that my Amish cell phone bit did not intend to question the authenticity of Jonah Goldberg's underpolling fears. He's not spinning, he just happens to be wrong.

Jesse Helms, there was a classic underpolling candidate. Helms supporters juiced by Helms' staunch anti-communist foreign policy stands had a reasonable chance of being labeled Klansmen by neighbors if their Helms support was too obvious. You had radically different voting issues in a Helms race.

Bush-Kerry has devolved pretty much to a single issue of security. Your friends and neighbors probably know where you stand on this single issue. If it turns out that there are thousands of voters out there who nixed the Bush bumper stickers or shaded their poll answers despite their strong, decisive support of Bush's Medicare drug benefit, I'll be one surprised Klansman.