Crossing The Line?
Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, who
was John Kerry's pollster during the 2004
presidential campaign, said the lengthy
list of questions appears to indicate that
the survey was designed to test messages
and "did not meet the definition of a push
poll: which usually lasts for a much short-
er time than a regular survey, since the
point is to spread the negative message to
as many people as possible.
While clearing the RJC of the push
poll claim, Mellman said it appears the
organization was testing messages that
wouldn't stand up to scrutiny — and that
he wouldn't test as a pollster.
"There's a line between basically accu-
rate and basically deceptive Mellman
said, "and they crossed that line."
"I test messages; he's testing lies:' said
the executive director of the National
Jewish Democratic Council, Ira Forman.
He said that many of the questions that
those polled say they were asked started
with a "grain of truth" but omitted impor-
tant context or twisted the meaning of
certain facts. Forman said he would not
detail the types of messages he tests.
Mik Moore, who as the founder of the
pro-Obama organization Jewsvote.org
first publicized reports of the negative
questioning about Obama, said that based
on the definition put forth by experts, the
RJC survey was probably not a "push poll."
But he said the "effect of it was a push
poll" because it ended up upsetting people
and spreading negative information about
Obama within the community.
Republican pollster Neil Newhouse said
he found the RJC questions "pretty stan-
dard in message testing surveys" because
pollsters "tend not to give both sides of the
story" in such cases. He said both parties
conduct similar types of polls, and that
as long as a statement can be defended as
true if it shows up on the front page of the
newspaper, it will be tested.
Newhouse added that the size of the
RJC's poll was clear evidence that the RJC
was not conducting a push poll, which usu-
For more than 30 years, Edward
Pappas has distinguished himself
as a civil trial lawyer, mediator,
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He wrote the definitive treatise on Michigan
Business Torts. He has been recognized as a
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ally goes to tens of thousands of voters.
Brooks denied "absolutely" and "cat-
egorically" that the poll asked any ques-
tions that described Obama as a Muslim
or brought up the Islamic background
of his family. He also denied the claims,
made by some who said they were called,
that there were any questions claiming
that Obama had been endorsed by the
president of Iran or donated to the PLO.
The RJC head also disputed similar
reports that callers were told that Obama
supported a"divided Jerusalem." He said the
actual question was: "Barack Obama once
supported a united, undivided Jerusalem,
but now says it's cup to the parties, which
could mean a divided Jerusalem
Brooks confirmed that the survey includ-
ed questions about llamas leader Ahmed
Yousef's stated support of Obama, immy
Carter's anti-Israel national security adviser"
being a foreign policy adviser to Obama
and the Democratic candidate's stint as a
member of the board of an organization that
donated to a pro-Palestinian organization.
He defended all those statements as accurate.
"The questions were designed to
understand why the Jewish community
continues to have a problem" with Obama,
Brooks said. A series of polls have found
that Obama currently commands about 60
percent of the Jewish vote, a sizable major-
ity but 15 to 20 percentage points less
than the totals recorded by other recent
Democratic presidential candidates.
Forman said the questions in the RJC
survey leave out important information,
such as Hamas' renouncement of the
endorsement after Obama's speech in June
to thousands of pro-Israel activists and
that the organization described as "pro-
Palestinian" in the RJC survey is primarily
devoted to social service work in Chicago.
Forman also said he didn't believe
Brooks' denials about the content of the
questions after speaking to those surveyed
who claimed they heard such queries. E
Keri Guten Cohen, JN story development
editor, contributed to this story.
Now, Ed Pappas has been chosen by his peers to
be President of the State Bar of Michigan. This
selection recognizes Ed's passion for the law, his
integrity, his professionalism, and a willingness to
dedicate his leadership skills and energy toward
the enhancement of our profession and its
promise of fair and equal justice on behalf of the
citizens of Michigan.
Ed Pappas is one of 250 attorneys in 40 practice
areas who have helped our firm earn its superior
national reputation. We congratulate Ed as the
fifth Dickinson Wright attorney to serve as
President of the State Bar of Michigan.
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September 25 • 2008
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