I'm not one to sympathize with simpletons who have never heard of statistics, but when two polls on the same day have such wildly divergent results, something is going wrong.

SurveyUSA's latest Florida poll (± 4.4%) has:

25 McCain
20 Giuliani
19 Romney
14 Huckabee
7 Thompson
7 Paul
1 Other
7 Not Sure

While the most recent Rasmussen poll (± 4%) has:

25 Romney
20 McCain
19 Giuliani
13 Huckabee
12 Thompson
5 Paul
6 Not Sure

When I saw this juxtaposition, I was immediately reminded of a similar situation prior to Iowa.

But these aren't the only two wildly divergent polls, either.



This is more than "no clear frontrunner." This more akin to no clarity at all.

Justice Scalia, on the corrupt, single party patronage system in New York's courts:

“Party conventions, with their attendant 'smoke-filled rooms' and domination by party leaders, have long been an accepted manner of selecting party candidates,” Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, in a decision that provided ample reminders that judges are politicians as well as somber, black-robed jurists.

...

"The reason one-party rule is entrenched may be (and usually is) that voters approve of the positions and candidates that the party regularly puts forward," Justice Scalia wrote.

Scalia is, of course, not the only person to take this view in modern politics.

President Hu Jintao said attempts to modernize China’s political system must not jeopardize one-party rule, setting a conservative tone before an important Communist Party conclave in the fall.

...

Such changes should “advance the self-perfection in the development of the socialist political system,” while preserving the Communist Party’s monopoly on political power, he said.

“Insist on the party’s leadership, governance by the people and ruling the nation by laws,” he said.

Tom Donohue on the 2008 elections:

"I'm concerned about anti-corporate and populist rhetoric from candidates for the presidency, members of Congress and the media," he said. "It suggests to us that we have to demonstrate who it is in this society that creates jobs, wealth and benefits -- and who it is that eats them."

Shafiq's 11

Robbers made off with gold ornaments and other valuables, primarily estimated at several crores of taka, breaking open 75 safe deposit lockers in the Dhanmondi branch of BRAC Bank Ltd in the capital during the last weekend.

Police said the robbers entered the locker room cutting through its ceiling, as they found a large hole cut through the floor of a hotel room right above the locker room.

The branch of Brac Bank is situated on the first floor of a building which houses Hotel Nidmahal Residential right above the bank.

Police suspect the robbers rented six rooms of the hotel and entered the bank's locker room through the hole on the floor of the room right above it. They also suspect the robbers stayed in the hotel for more than a month to plan the heist.