Don't Let a Poll Tell You How To Feel!

So the latest poll from CNN.com (thanks a lot CNN) tells us:

"On the day that President-elect Barack Obama visited the White House, a new national poll illustrates the daunting challenges he faces when it becomes his home next year. Only 16 percent of those questioned in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released today say things are going well in the country today. That's an all-time low."

Frankly, I think that is a useless statistic based on "feeling". It was illustrated by some whining that a friend of mine was doing the other day. He was saying how terrible things were, so I asked him why he thought they were terrible. He said "because everybody is losing their job". I asked "Have you lost your job". He says "No". I asked "Do you know anyone personally that has lost their job?". Again, he answers "No".

"So why do you think things are terrible?" I asked him.

He says, "cause that is what I see on the news!"

And therein lies the problem.

He, like many Americans, is letting someone else think and feel for him.