Ramesh Ponnuru

Much of the media’s coverage of political elections and other events in recent years has become increasingly dominated by the practice of public opinion polling. This development has been condemned by some media critics. The following viewpoint by Ramesh Ponnuru is taken from a review of Mobocracy: How the Media’s Obsession with Polling Twists the News, Alters Elections, and Undermines Democracy by political scientist Matthew Robinson. Ponnuru expresses agreement with the book’s basic thesis that the American public is being ill-served by media polls that are often biased and inexpertly constructed and reported on. Ponnuru argues that polls create an illusion of certainty that belies the reality that most Americans do not have well-formed and informed opinions about many polling issues. Ponnuru is a senior editor for...