Scott Rasmussen of Rasmussen Reports, the GOP polling firm that keeps saying Republicans are ahead in Wisconsin when no other poll agrees, has "explained" why his polls have numbers no one else's do.
One finding that got a lot of attention was a recent poll showing Senate candidate Dave Westlake with 64% name recognition statewide, when in reality no one's ever heard of him.
Rasmussen says it's all a matter of when they ask the question in the survey. Others ask that question at the beginning, to get a real reading on whether respondents know the candidates before giving them any information about them.
Rasmussen asks the question later, after telling people what Westlake is running for and which party he's in. So any response is clearly skewed.
Rasmussen sees no problem with that. This is the best part of his defense:
... most people may not know the names of challengers even on election day.
But his poll says 64% of them have an opinion now about a guy they never heard of? And he thinks that's OK?
Sometimes, it may be better to let criticism go unanswered.