http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brandon-friedman/military-times-damages-cr_b_154406.htmlOnce again, the widely-read Military Times is deliberately attempting to accentuate the perceived rift between the military and the incoming Obama administration by promoting an amateurish, unscientific survey called the "2008 Military Times Poll." Here's the headline for the main article:
2008 Military Times poll: Wary about Obama
Troops cite inexperience, Iraq timetable
Using the same data, they also have an accompanying piece with a similarly divisive lead:
Troops oppose repeal of 'don't ask'
Of course, both articles are full of self-selected, academically useless responses from the Military Times' older, white, subscribing readership. The only question is whether they're doing this deliberately, or whether no one who works at the paper is actually educated enough to know how important the difference is between a scientific survey and a haphazardly conducted poll of subscribers who choose to participate.
This pushing of a rift is not healthy for America, and seems destined to make disengagement from our misbegotten Iraq adventure that much more difficult..