Polls Showing a Close Race in Battleground States
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/opinion/letters/polls-battleground-states.html Version 0 of 1. To the Editor: Re “Can Trump Win Independents?” (Op-Ed, Nov. 4) and “Trump Is Remaining Competitive if Not Popular” (front page, Nov. 5): Matthew Continetti’s examination of why Donald Trump is likely toast unless he wins back independent voters and Nate Cohn’s analysis of why President Trump can still win battleground states to again put him over the top are both based on an array of polling data. Outside of The Times there are countless more stories about often conflicting national and state polls. But what are we gaining from this mass of data? Usually a reporter’s or a pundit’s assessment of a snapshot in time, which will be completely at odds with another’s snap assessment tomorrow and the next day and the next week and so on. Three months from the Iowa caucus and one year from the national election, The Times and other media are bombarding readers with data that often seems nonsensical. There’s got to be a better method behind this madness! Pete BartolikNaples, Fla. To the Editor: Before she was murdered by the Nazis, Anne Frank wrote, “In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” When I was a child, I wept when I read that. When I was a young woman, I took comfort from it. Now that I am older, I don’t believe it anymore. After reading the polls, with President Trump apparently leading or tied in some, I don’t believe that people are good. That so many Americans still support him — support the alienation of our allies, the destruction of our values, the death of democracy — has both incensed and frightened me. We’ve seen this movie before; it doesn’t end well. Sheila LevinNew YorkThe writer is former assistant director of the American Jewish Congress. To the Editor: Re “Trump Is Remaining Competitive if Not Popular” (front page, Nov. 5), about polls showing that the president is “highly competitive” against the three top Democratic candidates in battleground states: A year out from the presidential election the Democrats are already making many of the same fatal mistakes they made in 2016. Elizabeth Warren, whatever her merits as a leader, will never beat Donald Trump in the general election. She, like Hillary Clinton before her, is perceived as too liberal by too many voters. Furthermore, I believe there is little either Ms. Warren or her supporters can do to change this perception over the next 12 months. On the other hand, Joe Biden is seen as too moderate and ineffectual by many in the party. What will Warren supporters likely to do should Mr. Biden get the nomination? Just what they did in the last election when their favorite son, Bernie Sanders, failed to get it — stay home in protest. All the while, President Trump and his people are lapping it up. Right now, things are going far better than even they dared hope. Joe ElliottAsheville, N.C. To the Editor: It’s abundantly clear by now that it is futile for the Democrats to try to win over President Trump’s supporters. But there is another way they can win the battleground states, and with them the election: by taking advantage of the surplus of Democratic voters in California and New York. In 2016, the Democrats won those two states by a total of six million votes. If enough of these voters moved to the battleground states — retirees being the most obvious candidates — Mr. Trump would be defeated. I know moving can be a traumatic experience. But if the president can do it, anybody can. Michael BetchermanToronto |