Pseudo Polls

Recently i was watching the news and saw some very peculiar public opinion polls. While watching i realized that these polls seemed to sway towards one side or the other with not much reason behind them. The poll was regarding immigration and was being broadcast ed on Fox News. Today the media tends to be a little biased when it comes to certain issues. Much like the clip in class from the Jon Stewart Show Fox asked a question regarding health care in which almost 98% of Americans believed taxes should not be raised. Coincidentally, CNN ran a similar poll with the same question worded differently. In this poll almost 98% of people were in favor of raising taxes. This is due in large part because of the respondents who are calling and texting into the show. These people watch the news regularly and tend to agree with the network they are in favor of. When that network asks a broad question it is likely they are going to receive the results they were looking for. For people that arent familiar with polling this can be greatly confusing. They think with such an overwhelming number in favor or against it would be a relatively easy decision for Washington to make. However, these polls are written and aimed towards specific people who the network knows are going to respond in favor of them.
The results of the poll i was watching were completely different than those on the poll i am studying over the course of the semester. This is inlarge part due to the respondents and their beleifs. If one is strongly infavor of or against immigration they are likely to make their voises heard. Because of this these extremists are usually the only people who respond to these polls. With many biased polls and networks trying to force their agenda it makes it very difficult for Americans today to form their own beleifs and opinions and act on them. Pseuado polls may be useful in some topics and some areas of the nation, however when it comes to large issues they can tend to misconstrew and confuse the average American public.