Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

Keedy, the criticism you linked from PowerlineBlog suggests that the poll was purposely conducted to slant the results. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The poll was conducted over a recent four-day period and included 895 adults, a statistically valid sample size. The participants were selected to match the population concentrations in the U.S--more from urban areas, less from suburban and exurban locations. The actual participants were selected by a computer selecting from among the several thousand three-digit telephone exchanges in the country in a way that represented the U.S. population distribution. The individual survey participants were selected by the computer selecting random four-digit phone numbers within each of the selected exchanges. That approach was designed to include both listed as well as unlisted phone numbers. The survey also required a split between make and female respondents, and survey takers were required to get either the oldest adult male or female at each of the prescribed phone numbers. The survey was then conducted among participants chosen in that manner.

If you'd like to read the complete list of survey questions and responses, navigate to http://documents.nytimes.com/latest-...-on-health#p=1 The poll results also indicate how the most recent poll compares to those conducted in earlier periods to assess any change in attitude among Americans.

I'm no survey expert, but both the method for selecting respondents as well as the questions in the survey appear to be designed to get answers to the fundamental questions regarding the desire of the electorate for change in the healthcare system.