Garbage in, garbage out

Besty Newmark gives us another reminder why exit polling data shouldn't be given serious weight. Considering the stupid phrasing of the exit poll question in 2000 ("Do you consider yourself part of the conservative Christian political movement, also known as the religious right?"), it shouldn't come as a surprise if it seems like more evangelicals showed up to vote in 2004, when the question was changed to, "Would you describe yourself as a born-again or evangelical Christian?" Betsy adds:

What a stupidly worded question that 2000 one was. How many loaded phrases were they going to stack into that question. Lots of people can consider themselves Evangelicals without thinking they're part of a political movement or part of the religious right.

Yep. I would be one of them.

Betsy's page is a great blog, by the way. Go check it out.