…and this is a 
Pray for a poll to turn out the way they want it
Category: Pointless polls
Posted on: October 14, 2008 7:57 AM, by PZ Myers
How can I resist this poll? It's on a site called Pray for McCain-Palin, which is hilarious in itself, and here's the poll on that page:
Senator McCain's Pick of Sarah Palin as Vice Presidential Running Mate
Solidified my vote for him: 66%
Didn't change my vote for him: 5%
Made me less likely to vote for him: 4%
Didn't change my vote against him: 1%
Solidified my vote against him: 25%
Prayer won't help you now, Jebusites. The Pharynguloid hordes are coming.
Comments
Posted by: BaldySlaphead | October 14, 2008 8:02 AM
I do so hope I haven't invalidated their poll by voting "Solidified my vote against him" just because I'm not actually entitled to vote in your election.
Posted by: Aureola Nominee, FCD | October 14, 2008 8:03 AM
Done. "Solidified my vote against him" now at 29%.
Posted by: Chris Hughes | October 14, 2008 8:05 AM
30% now -- and I'm not a US voter either!
Posted by: Kristinmh | October 14, 2008 8:06 AM
Yeah, I'm not entitled to vote in the election either (being a Canadian etc). I suppose that's why PZ calls them "pointless polls".
Posted by: Al-Aurens | October 14, 2008 8:08 AM
Well, crap. I voted 'Didn't change my vote against him.' So much for a coordinated attack on my part. D'oh!
Posted by: Zeno | October 14, 2008 8:09 AM
The problem with polls like these is that the true answer for me is merely "Didn't change my vote against him." The probability of my voting for him was already zero. However, that's just not a satisfactory response in terms of its impact, so I think I'll go for "Solidified my vote against him," which is a bit more emphatic.
Of course, I made up my mind about John McCain and Sarah Palin before reading the Sacramento Union column that pointed out how Sarah Palin is exactly like Golda Meir! Except for Meir being a socialist and Palin a right-winger, Meir being a young political activist and Palin a beauty queen, and Meir being the leader of her country and Palin a flash in the pan. At least living in Alaska is exactly like living on an Israeli kibbutz. If only I had seen that before making up my mind against her!
Posted by: Ramases | October 14, 2008 8:09 AM
"Solidified my vote against him" now at 33%.
However, "Didn't change my vote against him" has stayed at 1%
I rather feel it likely that "Didn't change my vote against him" would be the most likely honest vote of most on this forum.
Posted by: Diego | October 14, 2008 8:10 AM
36% now.
Posted by: ElJay | October 14, 2008 8:12 AM
Vote early, vote often : just delete cookies and have at it. Again and again.
Posted by: BaldySlaphead | October 14, 2008 8:13 AM
Bugger. I'm really, really sorry if my non-US status has knackered their methodologically-sound poll. It was so valuable until I cast my vote too.
Posted by: eric | October 14, 2008 8:14 AM
39% with less than 700 total voters. Only 700!! The pharynguloid hordes seem to be absent!
Posted by: «bønez_brigade» | October 14, 2008 8:18 AM
Voted for "solidified against", though options 2-4 also would've worked for me.
Currently:
Solidified my vote for him: 47%
Didn't change my vote for him: 4%
Made me less likely to vote for him: 3%
Didn't change my vote against him: 2%
Solidified my vote against him: 44%
Total Votes: 756
Posted by: Faid | October 14, 2008 8:19 AM
"Jebusites"? "Pharynguloids"?
Now I know how to call my next Spore creatures.
Posted by: varlo | October 14, 2008 8:22 AM
Two solidifieds now neck and neck at 46%
Posted by: Anon | October 14, 2008 8:23 AM
46% for against, 45% for.
Posted by: Cuttlefish, OM | October 14, 2008 8:26 AM
We pray for peace, we pray for rain
And now we pay for John McCain
We pray with everything we've got
And once again... it won't do squat.
Posted by: Pen | October 14, 2008 8:27 AM
It's OK fellow non-Americans. It's perfectly fair and democratic for us to vote on their polls when their decisions affect us so profoundly. What isn't fair is that we can't vote in their elections and nevertheless have to suffer the 'leadership' of their choosing. Speaking as a non-American, non-US-resident, but US tax payer by force of law, I think I should be entitled to a vote in any case. I'm praying to the unicorn in my garden that they choose Obama.
Posted by: Cuttlefish, OM | October 14, 2008 8:28 AM
@#16---dammit, line 2 "pay" = "pray"
Posted by: Olaf | October 14, 2008 8:34 AM
Slightly odd that all the options are in symmetric pairs except "Made me less likely to vote for him" - why no "Made me more likely to vote for him"?
Oh yeah, because no-one with the necessary training to design this sort of thing correctly would get a job designing unvetted political polls for random websites.
Posted by: Seeker | October 14, 2008 8:39 AM
The tally stands at 55% for solidified against now, even though I'm uneligable, seeing that the US lies at the other side of the Atlantic.
But seeing that my near-bankrupted bank needed to be nationalized because of the US-generated crisis, costing me part of my pension-fund and costing me a raise in taxes, I do feel that I should be able to vote against the joker who consistently degraded market regulations.
Posted by: Turgood | October 14, 2008 8:43 AM
Solidified my vote against him now at 58%.
Posted by: JBlilie | October 14, 2008 8:45 AM
The tide has turned now ...
And the real tide is flooding in the right direction too ;^)
Posted by: negentropyeater | October 14, 2008 8:46 AM
I'm really scared, this group seems to have special magical powers and be in direct communication with God, look, they claim that Bush got elected thanks to them :
So, if it "worked" once, it is highly likely that it will work a second time (creotard reasoning skills required).
So, looks like God is also voting in this election, like in the previous ones, Barack Hussein Obama (a covert muslim, an anti-American terrorist, a baby killer, a communist) can't possibly win !
Posted by: Noise | October 14, 2008 9:00 AM
W00t, 64% solidified against, 26% for. 1356 votes.
Posted by: E.V. | October 14, 2008 9:02 AM
A typo, yes and perhaps a Freudian slip, but oh so apt.Posted by: tacitus | October 14, 2008 9:06 AM
This is a "Freeper's" website (someone who belongs to that rabidly right-wing Free Republic bulletin board). They are always "Freeping" polls, so this would seem like poetic justice.
Posted by: tsg | October 14, 2008 9:08 AM
A dollar says he resets the stats within the hour.
Posted by: Curt Cameron | October 14, 2008 9:08 AM
For those of us who are more security-conscious and have javascript turned off normally, you have to enable javascript from a site called "superstats.com" in order for the poll to appear. I was thinking at first they had taken it down.
Posted by: Mike | October 14, 2008 9:09 AM
up to 68% solidly against!
Posted by: noncarborundum | October 14, 2008 9:10 AM
Not for me. Before Palin, there was no way I was voting for him; now, there's no way in hell I'm voting for him.
Posted by: True Bob | October 14, 2008 9:12 AM
69% solidified against, with 1628 votes.
Posted by: zilch | October 14, 2008 9:13 AM
Now at 70% "solid waste". Too bad this doesn't represent the real vote...
Posted by: Scooby1967 | October 14, 2008 9:15 AM
69% now...
Posted by: Mozglubov | October 14, 2008 9:18 AM
@ #25
Well spotted, well spotted indeed.
Posted by: Greg Laden | October 14, 2008 9:19 AM
Do people think we can't see them?
Posted by: Phil | October 14, 2008 9:23 AM
That didn't take long... "solidified against" is now over 70%. I notice there's a prayer option: "Pray for those reading these earnest prayer requests who mock God and his people." Who, me?
Posted by: clinteas | October 14, 2008 9:26 AM
Pharyngulated already......
//And now we pay for John McCain//
Let's hope not !!
Posted by: Bill Ockham | October 14, 2008 9:28 AM
As there is no real honest answer available, I figure that "...less likely to vote for him," makes the most impact on the fundies. Great to see that the horde has responded.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | October 14, 2008 9:29 AM
A quatrain by Cuttlefish in the morning makes me as happy as a clam. I'm heading off with an extra spring in my step today.
Please, Cuttle, more morning rhymes?
Please try one of mine, ahem:
No time for polls today
Politics wins anyway.
So what if McCain-Palin
Are seen rapidly failin'?
Obama and Joe Biden
Also make me feel like hidin'.
Posted by: BobC | October 14, 2008 9:32 AM
I selected "Solidified my vote against him" which is now at 74% instead of 25%.
Posted by: woody | October 14, 2008 9:32 AM
Thisn's flipped, folks...
Total Votes: 2041
Posted by: Debi Linton | October 14, 2008 9:36 AM
Pray for McCain. Vote for Obama.
Posted by: CadicusTheDamned | October 14, 2008 9:38 AM
Thought of you when I saw this:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/900_pound_giant_squid_joins_cast
Also, I will go vote in the poll.
Posted by: Patricia | October 14, 2008 9:47 AM
Ha, voted and here are the current stats:
Solidified my vote for him: 15%
Didn't change my vote for him: 1%
Made me less likely to vote for him: 4%
Didn't change my vote against him: 3%
Solidified my vote against him: 76%
Total Votes: 2393
Posted by: Lee Picton | October 14, 2008 9:52 AM
Using Firefox, I accidentally voted more than once - until the appropriate answer tripped over from 76% to 77%! Well and truly pharyngulated!
Posted by: Desert Son | October 14, 2008 10:00 AM
Results are at 76% Solidified Against.
PZ posted:
The Pharynguloid hordes are coming.
Weren't the Pharynguloids a group a bit north of the Visigoths? Always wondered what it felt like to be part of a horde. Issue me a broadsword, wouldja? When do we march on Rome?
No kings,
Robert
P.S. To the NSA agents assigned to monitor Professor Myers' blog, please understand the above post about "marching on Rome" was said in jest, referencing historical events of times long past. I continue to love apple pie and baseball. Also remember to get up and walk around every so often, and don't stare too long at the computer screen. Refocus on something across the room every couple of hours to help prevent eye strain. Good health begins with you!
Posted by: Tom | October 14, 2008 10:02 AM
I have come to believe that voting in the nutcase polls PZ links to is my Primary Patriotic Duty.
Posted by: Capital Dan | October 14, 2008 10:04 AM
Ouch:
Oh yeah... This little Freep is going to reset those stats any second now. He or she is probably just sitting there wondering what is happening in their perfect little world. Why is it not making sense?
This is the sort of thing that could give a godbot a permanent stutter.
Posted by: Mariana | October 14, 2008 10:12 AM
John Cleese on Sarah Palin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g
I wish a member of MP were consulted about current events every day. Preferably John Cleese or Terry Jones, but I'd take the others too.
Posted by: rob | October 14, 2008 10:13 AM
Solidified my vote for him: 12%
Didn't change my vote for him: 1%
Made me less likely to vote for him: 4%
Didn't change my vote against him: 3%
Solidified my vote against him: 80%
Total Votes: 3027
The Poll crashers strike again!
Internet polls should all have a disclaimer:
"Results are good to within +/- 100%
Posted by: LarryT | October 14, 2008 10:18 AM
PZ needs to market tee shirts "I am part of the Pharynguloid horde. Be very afraid" emblazoned across a large cephalopod
Posted by: Scaryduck | October 14, 2008 10:19 AM
"Reform, Propserity, Peace" - makes me want to invade a sovereign naton, just for giggles.
Now at 81%
Posted by: Flying Embers | October 14, 2008 10:20 AM
I voted, and voted often. My 5 browsers were unanimous on Solidified my vote against him, which just now edged into 81%.
Posted by: Tilia | October 14, 2008 10:21 AM
Wouldn't
"Made me less likely to vote for him"
make them more afraid?
Posted by: Carlie | October 14, 2008 10:23 AM
I tried to vote and it reset me back to the main page without giving me any results. Either it's crashing under the combined weight of Pharynguloids, or it's been taken down.
Posted by: charley | October 14, 2008 10:36 AM
It isn't that prayer doesn't work, it's just a matter of finding the right thing to pray to. I've been praying to my laundry basket that Obama would win. The results are promising.
Posted by: FastLane | October 14, 2008 10:41 AM
Solidified my vote for him: 10%
Didn't change my vote for him: 1%
Made me less likely to vote for him: 4%
Didn't change my vote against him: 3%
Solidified my vote against him: 82%
Desert Son:
I LOL'd. Very nice.
Posted by: Ouchimoo | October 14, 2008 10:46 AM
83% @ my vote against him. I LAUGHED because it caught me off guard how high it was in comparison to the others.
Posted by: Porky Pine | October 14, 2008 10:50 AM
I don't see the poll. Did it get taken down?
Posted by: Cut and Paste | October 14, 2008 10:52 AM
From their FAQ
2)What if I'm not a Christian? We do not prohibit those of other faiths from joining us in prayer. The prayer threads are places where debate is avoided. There is a time and a place for discussing those matters, and many other places on Free Republic where this occurs, but the prayer thread should be treated just like a prayer chapel. Peaceful. And focussed on petitioning the Almighty for His favor.
4)I don't think Candidate X is really a Christian. Why should I pray for them? Whether or not someone meets your criteria for being a Christian or not is immaterial. Scripture still admonishes us to pray for our leaders and those in authority.
I like the assumption that if you are not a christian, your prayers still count in their efforts. Do atheistic good vibes count? If so, I'll contribute anti-vibes to them.
Also, where's the page for prayer for Obama and Biden, both are sitting senators, thus "Authority". according to 4, they should be prayed for too. This page smells of mendacity.
Posted by: Anthony | October 14, 2008 10:55 AM
Now we all know they say that prayer works in mysterious ways but this one is really going to leave them scratching their heads.
Posted by: GreedyAlgorithm | October 14, 2008 10:58 AM
Is there an RSS feed I could switch to that skips all of the posts labeled "pointless poll"? 'cause I really don't give a damn, and PZ, you just keep yambling about them. We get it, you can send people to crash polls, now leave that shit to the internet and resume blogging about actually interesting things.
Posted by: chris | October 14, 2008 10:59 AM
Wait, can he? Is god American?
Posted by: matt | October 14, 2008 11:04 AM
God was born in a manger in the middle east. That makes him a terrorist, not an American.
Posted by: Mike C | October 14, 2008 11:11 AM
So, looks like God is also voting in this election,
Wait, can he? Is god American?
No, she's black and jewish!
Posted by: raven | October 14, 2008 11:11 AM
You are both wrong. According to the RCC, god is a small cracker costing a few pennies.
Posted by: JimC | October 14, 2008 11:12 AM
Very funny!
Posted by: --PatF in Madison | October 14, 2008 11:15 AM
From their website..
"..we have watched as our prayers were answered with President Bush becoming President. Our nation being kept relatively free from harm's way."
Do these people live in the same country I do? Haven't they heard of 9/11 or the Iraq war? What about the housing collapse and the credit crunch?
Further words fail me.
Buncha meatheads.
Posted by: --PatF in Madison | October 14, 2008 11:17 AM
From their website..
"..we have watched as our prayers were answered with President Bush becoming President. Our nation being kept relatively free from harm's way."
Do these people live in the same country I do? Haven't they heard of 9/11 or the Iraq war? What about the housing collapse and the credit crunch?
Further words fail me.
Buncha meatheads.
Posted by: GMacs | October 14, 2008 11:21 AM
So they talk about "prayer threads," and they say that you can don't have to be Christian. You can pray to ANY name deity you wish, and, since they are "not a place for debate", they have to deal with it.
I'm tempted to bring the presence of the Church of His Noodley Appendage.
Posted by: Berto | October 14, 2008 11:22 AM
I eat polls for breakfast, yum yum...
We're at 82% now! :)
Posted by: tatiana | October 14, 2008 11:23 AM
Really, you've got to check out teenmomsforpalin.com
Between that and Jesus' General and you're keyboard is simply not safe from spewage.
Posted by: Art | October 14, 2008 11:30 AM
IMHO the proper response is: "Made me less likely to vote for him"
Okay, I wasn't really planning to vote for McCain before he selected Palin. But, based on the possibility of a 'road to Damascus' moment on the way to the polls, stepping into the booth and finding a large armed person with a gun demanding I vote for McCain, or a sudden cerebral hemmorage that changes my thinking there was some small chance I might vote for McCain.
My visceral reaction to his selection of Palin was so profound that I really doubt sudden revelation, armed threats or brain damage could so easily shift my vote. What was a very small percentage shifted much closer to zero.
I went from 'no, but we can still talk about it' to 'Save your breath, I would rather be smeared with bacon and slowly eaten alive by rats while Sun Young Moon wearing a clown outfit cracks jokes and informs me at great length about the details of his philosophy'.
Posted by: BigBob | October 14, 2008 11:31 AM
Whoa. I saw 83% then 82, now it's 81%.
Something is stirring...
Posted by: Johnny | October 14, 2008 11:31 AM
Great fun, now 80% solidified against voting for him! And I'm not even American!
Posted by: moother | October 14, 2008 11:33 AM
seems like someone has been praying for this poll... christards are gaining back some poinks.
Posted by: «bønez_brigade» | October 14, 2008 11:38 AM
@ 74-76,
Settle down now. It's probably nothing more than just a little balancing going on, that's all.
Posted by: tsg | October 14, 2008 11:38 AM
"Waaaaaah! I don't like all the things PZ blogs about!" Jebus, do you search the internet for blog entries you have no interest in just to comment on how uninteresting they are to you?
If you have something better to do, go do it. No one's holding a gun to your head.
Posted by: Kevin | October 14, 2008 11:40 AM
From their about us page---They prayed for George Bush to be elected and consider his presidency a positive reflection of xian values. I am sure it is not their intention to promote atheism....but they do make it look appealing!
Posted by: Johnny | October 14, 2008 11:48 AM
Forgive me if I'm being stupid as I'm new to these blogs but whenever I don't want to read a blogpost I just scroll down past it. And there are so many ways to do it, arrow keys, page down button, scroller wheel on the mouse, clicking the down button on the right hand side of the webpage... you're spoilt for choice really! Sounds like you're just a whiny little bitch Greedy Algorithm and need to drink a big cup of STFU. No offense.
Posted by: Zeroeye | October 14, 2008 11:49 AM
Sarah Palin doesn't even own her domain name. There is a poll at www.sarahpalin.com , check it out.
Posted by: Patricia | October 14, 2008 11:51 AM
How the hell could I have written the above when I just now got up?
Two Patricia's is going to get way too confusing.
Anyway - 5550 votes for Solidified my vote against him 80%.
Posted by: tsg | October 14, 2008 11:54 AM
Or one of my better dreams.
Posted by: Porky Pine | October 14, 2008 11:55 AM
Where are you people finding this poll? When I follow the link, I get this:
Latest Updates:
Changes made to the Specific Requests Page (10/6/08)
YouTube Videos and Commentary Added to the Links Page (10/4/08)
I followed all the other links in the webpage and find no polls there also.
Posted by: Porky Pine | October 14, 2008 11:58 AM
Duh! NVM. No script was hiding it on me.
Carry on.
Posted by: rich fraser (richmanwisco) | October 14, 2008 11:59 AM
I just noticed that using Firefox allows you to vote as many times as you want. But to see the results I have to use Internet Explorer.
Posted by: craig | October 14, 2008 12:01 PM
I dunno, "solidified my vote against" is honest enough, because while the chances of me voting for him were 0% before Palin, after Palin the chances are much more emphatically 0%.
Posted by: Rowan | October 14, 2008 12:01 PM
Happy to join in! I had to click "made it less likely for me to vote for him." As a non-American, this is true.
Posted by: Qwerty | October 14, 2008 12:05 PM
Solidified is at %80.
I voted for solidified as McCain is a gasbag and Palin is an airhead.
Posted by: «bønez_brigade» | October 14, 2008 12:05 PM
Much better:
Solidified my vote for him: 6%
Didn't change my vote for him: 2%
Made me less likely to vote for him: 6%
Didn't change my vote against him: 6%
Solidified my vote against him: 80%
Total Votes: 6381
Posted by: clinteas | October 14, 2008 12:08 PM
//Really, you've got to check out teenmomsforpalin.com//
Do they have pics??
Posted by: Mad Hussein LOLscientist, FCD | October 14, 2008 12:11 PM
80% "solidified my vote against"
Sure, I'll pray for McCain-Palin........ to get totally creamed all over the place. Are you listening, Ceiling Cat?
Posted by: clinteas | October 14, 2008 12:19 PM
Hey Mad Hussein LOL,
i just commented on your comment on Abbies comment on Rachel LOL.....
Posted by: tsg | October 14, 2008 12:23 PM
For me, it went from "only if the other guy was Hitler" to "not even then".
Posted by: Last Hussar | October 14, 2008 12:42 PM
Back up to 81%.
You do realise that their referer stats will have PZ at the top? No doubt there will be righteous indignation, and possibly threat of smiting. Though it's not as if we called for McPalin to be assassinated. Hey Ms Coulter, Mr Limberg- do you know anyone who calls for the opponent to be killed?
Posted by: Last Hussar | October 14, 2008 12:42 PM
Back up to 81%.
You do realise that their referer stats will have PZ at the top? No doubt there will be righteous indignation, and possibly threat of smiting. Though it's not as if we called for McPalin to be assassinated. Hey Ms Coulter, Mr Limberg- do you know anyone who calls for the opponent to be killed?
Posted by: rich fraser (richmanwisco) | October 14, 2008 12:44 PM
I just noticed that using Firefox allows you to vote as many times as you want. But to see the results I have to use Internet Explorer.
Posted by: clinteas | October 14, 2008 12:47 PM
rich fraser @ 97,
//But to see the results I have to use Internet Explorer.//
Then youre doing it wrong.
Posted by: chgo_liz | October 14, 2008 12:48 PM
Olaf @ #19: good catch! Interesting that even the prayerful types aren't deluded into thinking Palin makes McCain more electable.
Posted by: Mark Mattern | October 14, 2008 12:54 PM
I'm using Opera, can't see the results.
Posted by: clinteas | October 14, 2008 12:58 PM
@ 100,
Im using Firefox on a non-Windows OS,and I see them.
Probably a JS thing.
Posted by: tsg | October 14, 2008 1:10 PM
Then they shouldn't make their poll public.
Or only allow people who support Palin to vote in it.
Or stop pretending internet polls mean anything at all.
Or not have one.
Or just get it over with an make up the results they want to see.
But they can't complain that the question they asked didn't get the answer they were expecting.
Really. Pharyngulites voting on a poll en masse is no less fair than putting the poll on a pro-Palin website where most of the people who will even see the poll are Palin supporters to begin with. Because I can guarantee you if 99% of the referer tags was from a single pro-Palin website and the vote went their way, they wouldn't complain at all.
(Quick note: I realize you're not suggesting crashing the poll is wrong and this wasn't directed at you.)
Posted by: Zach | October 14, 2008 1:10 PM
Solidified my vote against him: 81%
Posted by: Paul Johnson | October 14, 2008 1:42 PM
The Pharynguloid hordes are coming. Godless hordes of pollthirsty savages.
But even Pharynguloids need laws.
Our laws will be simple
1. No killing women or children (preferably anyone really)
2. Pay your debts (especially if theres a court order involved)
3. Pollcrash til the end
4. Never betray your blogger (unless they claim to have found Tengri while walking through the Pharyngulan Steppe)
5. Cephalopods are awesome.
Posted by: Leslie in Canada | October 14, 2008 1:44 PM
It is a bit sad that I can't say that this solidified my vote against him as I can't vote in the US election. But I was heartened that the McCain-Palin prayer folk expressly DO NOT PROHIBIT me from praying for the team even if I am not an xian. Odin will be so pleased.