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The governor, polls and those blogs Wednesday, Nov 16, 2005 By David Sanders Gov. Mike Huckabee has been on the receiving end of some good name-calling. The Arkansas governor will want to update his bio, having recently nabbed national accolades for his efforts at leading the state. This week, Time magazine dubbed Huckabee one of "America's Five Best Governors," or, as Time's Amanda Ripley and Karen Tumulty called the group, "the hardest-working carpenters." Incidentally, Huckabee wasn't the only Republican governor on the list who was born in South Arkansas. Nevada's Gov. Kenny Guinn, who was born east of Texarkana and west of Lewisville in Garland City, was the other GOP state chief executive earning Time's praise. Last week at a dinner in the nation's capital, Huckabee picked up one of Governing magazine's "Public Officials of the Year" awards. The magazine presents the awards to officials at various levels of government, but only awards one governor each year. Both publications played up Huckabee's unconventional governing style, which mixes healthy doses of pragmatism with conservatism and the fact that he is dipping his toes in the presidential waters. How is this news about Huckabee playing in New Hampshire? Apparently it's not. A Granite State political reporter told this columnist Monday afternoon that the Arkansas governor had faded from conversations about potential White House aspirants. The reporter said that the lack of attention given to Huckabee meant that it was time for the governor to head back to the state. ----- Of polls, pollsters and their critics It has been the biggest story of Arkansas' early political season, sans the candidate shuffle: Which poll had which gubernatorial candidate up and by what margin? The University of Arkansas' Arkansas Poll had Democrat Mike Beebe up and the Wall Street Journal/Zogby International Poll had Republican Hutchinson up. Both Democrat- and Republican-leaning blogs erupted with criticism of the polls that didn't reflect well on their preferred candidates. Last week, this column devoted space to problems it saw with the Arkansas Poll's methodology related to the oversampling of Democratic-dominated congressional districts. This cast doubt on the validity of the poll's sample, which risks the accuracy of its results. The statewide daily followed with a story where the respective polls' authors - Janine Parry for the Arkansas Poll and John Zogby for the WSJ/Zogby Poll - explained their polls and openly criticized the other's methodology. That threw more fuel on the fire, leading the blogs to move from criticizing the poll results to criticizing the pollsters. Were there any winners or losers in the poll fight? The winner from this writer's perspective was John Zogby, the internationally renowned pollster, who despite the local criticism of his online sampling method, predicted the Democratic wins in New Jersey and Virginia governors' races. The loser was UA, which arguably lost its status from as the definitive measurement of Arkansas public opinion. The UA likely will be ready next time with a poll that will withstand critical analysis. If not, we'll be treated to another merry-go-round of criticism. What about blogs and their impact? Political coverage in the mainstream media and public policy are now being affected by Arkansas' political bloggers. Earlier this year, the Arkansas Times blog, in large part, framed the debate in the legislative fight between Deltic Timber and Central Arkansas Water. Legislators who sat at the desks with their laptops open have commented on the influence of the blog's minute-by-minute coverage. Ultimately the issue went to Central Arkansas Water and the Arkansas Times. The Arkansas Family Coalition blog has drawn attention to stories that in one form or another have made it into newspapers. The blogs are here to stay and so is their criticism of campaigns, the mainstream media, political candidates and pollsters. Arkansas politics may never be the same. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
