Smart of them: “CNN is amending the criteria for its Republican presidential debate on September 16, possibly opening the door for Carly Fiorina to join the other top-tier candidates on the stage.” But here’s the buried lede:
As of Tuesday, only three polls recognized by CNN have been released, and it appears there will not be enough to make a fair editorial judgment before the September 16th debate, according to the network.
The network said that from August through mid-September 2007, there were 16 polls released. During the same period in 2011, 15 polls were released. Based on previous poll releases, CNN created its original criteria.
…Interesting. I knew that the polling was sparse; but I hadn’t realized that it was THAT sparse. Very, very interesting…
That *is* interesting .. No polls made public means no polls made public, of course.. not that the candidates don’t have data…
.
I would be *very interested* in what Nate Silver has to say.
.
Mew
Some companies have stopped polling expressly because they’re being used as criteria, thus causing strategic answers instead of honest ones.
Of course, the criteria weren’t revealed until they needed to defend not inviting her in the first place. Which caused many skeptical eyebrow to rise. Especially when the GOP announced themselves impotent. (Not that I disagree with the assessment.)