11/19/10

The problem with polls...

I am still on the topic of the new TSA security procedures. One of the things I keep hearing mentioned is this poll that said 4 out of 5 Americans are in favor of using the full body scanners at airports. What I kept wondering was, who did they ask? Did they ask people who actually fly, or who are going to in the near future?

Not surprisingly, the answer is "no". I tracked down the actual poll, which was conducted by CBS News. According to the poll, which is shown below, "This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,137 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone November 7-10, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones."

Nothing in the published part of this poll had anything to do with whether or not these people do or will fly. So, while they may have said they were for it, they didn't say whether they would submit to it themselves.


Another thing lacking from the CBS poll was whether people would approve of invasive, full-body searches that include feeling the crotch, buttocks and breasts. From what I'm hearing, most people who actually have to go through this process are NOT in favor of it.

CBSNewsPoll_airportsecurity_111510

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