Iowans typically finalize their choice late in the campaign, often deciding in the days before the caucuses occur. The late-breaking nature of the state’s political culture lends the poll outsized influence, with the power to fuel a last-minute surge in the state or can be an early dirge for candidates struggling.
(Lisa Lerer; Jonathan Martin; Michael M. Grynbaum. NYT)
In the land of Iowa the pollsters reigned supreme.
They cataloged opinions for a massive data stream.
No politician running for an office dared neglect
the findings of this powerful and conscientious sect.
They call you in the shower and they call you when in bed.
They call you at the office and when you're about to wed.
Who you will be voting for -- that is their standard quest.
They want a ready answer, and I wouldn't try to jest.
Perfection is their watchword; aberrations ain't allowed.
They tolerate no error while they grill the corny crowd.
But yet it happened one fine day a pollster made a gaffe,
and either missed a coma or perhaps a paragraph.
When this was discovered, there was consternation wide.
In Des Moines the pollsters lost their prestige and their pride.
They cancelled further phone calls and they let go all their staff,
and all because one operator made a little gaffe.
Today among the corn stalks in the Iowa hinterland,
there's not a single pollster left to question or demand.
They've gone to greener pastures, or they maybe are extinct.
Anyhow, you won't be bothered at your next precinct.
And now you know the story of the pollster's sad demise,
of the consequences and the moral it implies.
Don't be a nosy parker or buttinski on the phone.
Minding your own bizness is how happiness is grown.
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