Who has ever been part of an "official" presidential opinion poll?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I ask because I have never been.
Polls currently indicate that %60-%80 of the American public supports the president’s actions. Most people I know IRL (and it’s not a homogeneous liberal selection) have some criticism or other of those actions – so it is qualified support at best. I realize that my anecdotal evidence is hardly worth comparing statistically to a scientific poll, but I have to wonder who the heck these people (who actually get polled) are, where they live, and what kind of questions they’re asked.

So, anyone here been polled recently or in the past? What was it like?

2

I was polled a week before the last national election and said I would probably support the Green Party. There were only a couple of more questions, governor and senator preference.

3

Hi, a young Morgan Fairchild. Welcome to the SDMB, and thanks for answering my question.

If you don’t mind my asking, what part of the country do you live in?

4

Ha, a second look shows that you have been a lurker longer than I have. Welcome anyway!

5

I used to conduct them all the time when I worked at a telephone survey place.

A typical question would be something like: “Do you approve or disapprove of how the president is doing his job?” followed by “Strongly or somewhat approve/disapprove?” They were rarely set up to record any sort of qualifications.

6

I’ve been polled a few times, both for local and national opinions. It’s easy to tell what the poll might be looking for, when questions are couched in the “would you support more gun control laws if it was proven to reduce crime” vice “do you support more gun control” fashion. In other words, if it’s a leading type of question, they can use the response in a number of ways.

As for qualifications, some have asked for age bracket, or income bracket.

7

I was polled on Sunday. I think the poll was commissioned by the AFL-CIO as there were a lot of union-oriented questions in addition to “How would you rate the President” and “Who would you vote for in 2004?”

The woman asking the questions could not pronounce Tom Daschle’s name.

And some of my answers may have appeared contradictory because I disapproved of the way the economy was going, yet I said my own economic situation had greatly improved, although I don’t advocate inheriting money as an investment strategy.