ABSTRACT
Polls are news. George Gallup described them as "opinion news," and opinion news deserves to be covered. But since the 1992 California primary election, when a hypothetical exit poll result about Ross Perot was deemed more newsworthy than primary victories by George Bush and Bill Clinton, journalists have taken "opinion news" to a new level of importance. On that day journalists, claiming to offer the public the choice it "really" wanted, elevated an exit-poll result over the actual returns. They opened the door to "what if?" public opinion journalism, and that raised the risk of journalists making up the news. The 1824 straw polls were even better than the real thing: the people's choice for president matters. In places where the public could vote in 1824, Jackson won more popular votes than the other candidates. George Bush had clinched the Republican nomination weeks before, though Pat Buchanan kept attacking and refused to withdraw.
