Pitfalls of Polling

According to this WaPo piece, people polled believe Dick Cheney's assertion that criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq war policies is damaging to troop morale.

If you still believe anything that Cheney says about troop morale, you may be suffering from the notion that Cheney is an expert in military psychology. This is technically known as the logical fallacy argumentum ad verecundiam and is a staple of the advertising world.

People may perceive Cheney as an expert, but it is clear that his own 'military background'(?) never involved wearing the uniform. Remember, 5 deferments during the Vietnam conflict due to Mr. Cheney having "other priorities."

He did his salesman's job very well last week. This is via the WaPo piece:

Democrats fumed last week at Vice President Cheney's suggestion that criticism of the administration's war policies was itself becoming a hindrance to the war effort. But a new poll indicates most Americans are sympathetic to Cheney's point.

Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale -- with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale.

Of course this begs the question: what about the GOP members in Congress who are now openly critical of the Bush administration's handling of the war effort?

Before I could even answer such a poll with anything but the 'don't know/not sure' response, I'd need data. Not from serial propagandist's like Dick Cheney. I would need data from some entities without a stake in continuing the war effort, and equally as important, from those that would like to see it end.

Our soldiers are professionals. This is the life that they have chosen for themselves. In the private sector, individuals themselves are often dressed down for errors in judgment. There is a distinct line drawn between opposing policy, and opposing the people carrying out the policy.

Dick Cheney has erased that line, and added nothing of value to the discourse.

If this comes across as being disparaging of the polled individuals critical thinking abilities, I assure you that is not the reason for this entry.

I am only critical of our Vice President. He may yet be right. But he is in no position to provide us with anything remotely resembling understanding on matters in which he has no expertise.

However, he did his job. He sold America an idea that may or may not have any basis in reality.

Welcome to 1984