Iraqis: life is getting better

[davinxtk]

Ah, shit, I'm sorry I missed that.

But seriously, where did I spit out anything anti-war? This is too nuanced a situation to be simply anti- or pro-war, if you ask me. The way things have panned out I don't think anyone who's touting immediate troop withdrawal really knows what they're asking for and anyone who thinks "stay the course" with the administration's plans clearly needs a reality check.

As far as polls go, no, I don't put much stock in them. Polling just over five thousand people when the entire population of Boston has fled Iraq four times over shows that you don't even really care what anyone thinks. Five thousand isn't an accurate cross-section of the people affected by this war, and there's no way anyone can claim that it is.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Quinnipiac just did a poll of al registered voters in NYC. They polled 1,200 people.

You don't need a huge sample size to get a window into thoughts and opinion. Doing what you suggest, targeting people you assume are disgruntled, is the definition of bias in polling. Why only the recently displaced? How about we find Iraqis who were "displaced" for decades and decades under Saddam...I'll bet they might think differentlythan the "cross section" you would target.

As long as it's random and consistent, 5,000 people is a very good sample size. If you don't like polls, ok, but I don't recall you throwing a fit like this over any other polls here...

[Preechr]

...and how would Iraqi refugees have any idea of whether or not things have gotten better in Iraq? Why ask them?

[derrida]

Am I the only one who is unsettled by the fact that our main picture of iraq in the mainstream media is coming to us via poll?

[derrida]

I just found out that the percentage of iraqis saying that life is better is 49 percent. Kinda funny that that wasn't in the original article.

[Abcdxxxx]

Derrida, you're insane. How is this poll the one picture mainstream media is providing us? There are stories every day concerning Iraq, and what with the Dems trying to push an exit agenda, it's rarely positive. Maybe what you should be troubled by is that this poll is one of the rare examples of a positive look at Iraq, because go figure, there are entire regions of the country which are leaning towards the positive future we all pray for.

49% is huge! That's amazing. You wouldn't know any percentage of Iraqis had a positive word to say about the situation from our mainstream media. Perhaps that's what you mean, and I apologize if I misread that, but knowing you, I doubt it.

[derrida]

Originally Posted by Abcdxxxx

Derrida, you're insane. How is this poll the one picture mainstream media is providing us? There are stories every day concerning Iraq, and what with the Dems trying to push an exit agenda, it's rarely positive. Maybe what you should be troubled by is that this poll is one of the rare examples of a positive look at Iraq, because go figure, there are entire regions of the country which are leaning towards the positive future we all pray for.

49% is huge! That's amazing. You wouldn't know any percentage of Iraqis had a positive word to say about the situation from our mainstream media. Perhaps that's what you mean, and I apologize if I misread that, but knowing you, I doubt it.

even though a poll is still only a snapshot, it can still give a more global picture than a story about some anecdotal event. No one is arguing that horrible things arent happening in Iraq, and so the "every day" stories about violence are not particularly useful in determining the status of the country as a whole. It strikes me as odd that, if there are regions leaning towards a positive future, why aren't there reporters on the ground there? It certainly must be easier to do so there than in the more hopeless regions, right? Or, is it that those regions simply havent learned far enough, and foreigners and iraqi news crews are still targeted for kidnapping or murder?