Exit poll?_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Exit poll?

It’s a neat theory -- but wrong. How it came to be regarded as the real story of George W. Bush’s victory is a fascinating and sobering example of journalism’s quest for freshness and surprise.

Here’s the simple fact: The evidence that moral values determined the election rests on a single dodgy exit-poll question. And it’s not at all clear that more voters are preoccupied with moral values now than were fretting about “family values” on election day 1996, when exit pollsters included that phrase in a question about “priorities for the new administration.” But in the often arid and repetitive arena of American political ideas, fun new contestants can be hard to disqualify. The myth of the moral values election is proving hard to snuff out.

The mantra was in full hum on election night. Television commentators were understandably struck by the results of the question asked of almost 7, 000 voters as they left their polling places: “Which one issue mattered most in deciding how you voted for president?” The most cited issue on the list of seven options offered to those surveyed was “moral values” at 22 percent; 80 percent of these voters went for President Bush, 18 percent for Democratic nominee John Kerry. “Economy/jobs” came next on the list at 20 percent, followed by terrorism (19 percent), Iraq (15 percent) and then health care, taxes and education in single digits.

Brian Healy was the CBS News producer covering the exit polls, something he has done in many elections. He recalled that everyone was surprised that moral values topped the list as the numbers came in, but it wasn’t until about 4 a.m. that someone quite innocently asked, “What exactly are ‘moral values’?”