The following is an article pieced together from a few emails I received from Toby Heaps, National Media Coordinator for the Nader campaign.

Arbitrary “Internal Judgment” - The Exclusion of Choice and Suppression of Democracy

In a recent WSJ/NBC national poll, Ralph Nader pulls 5 percent. Contrast that to the most recent Gallup national poll, where Nader polls a fraction of one percent. Why the big difference? Answer: Gallup, the 800-pound gorilla of the polling world, doesn’t list Ralph Nader as one of the Presidential candidates in the primary polling question.

Are you kidding me? No. We are not kidding you. And guess who the Commission on Presidential Debates depends on to do its polling to see which Presidential candidates get to debate before tens of millions of Americans tonight in Nashville? You guessed it: Gallup.

I called Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief at Gallup (pictured above left). You can call him too at 609-924-9600 or e-mail him directly at frank_newport@gallup.com.

“Is there an objective standard you use to keep Ralph off your primary polling question?” I asked Newport. “No,” He replied. “We use our internal judgment to decide.” Whoa! Gallup’s “internal judgment” keeps Ralph Nader out of their polling.

So, I tried again: “Any ballpark levels of support Gallup looks to as a threshold?” Newport replied again, “No.”

Again, it was just subject to unidentified “internal judgment criteria.”

There are some polling agencies — such as Ipsos/McClatchey and CNN/Opinion Research Corp. — that include all the major third party candidates. Not Gallup.

Call up Gallup’s Frank Newport. Give him a piece of your mind. Nader/Gonzalez is on more state ballots (45) than any other independent or third party candidate, and we’re polling five percent and higher in other polls nationwide.

Why is Gallup keeping Ralph Nader out of their polls? What standards does Gallup use to determine who is included in their Presidential polls? Call Newport at: 609-924-9600 or e-mail him at frank_newport@gallup.com

Over 99.5% of the people Gallup poll never hear the name Nader–or any of the other third party candidates for that matter. Gallup asks: “McCain, Obama, Neither, or Other”. Less than 0.5% of those polled say “other,” compared to 3-5 per cent who say Nader in other polls when his name is included in the main question.

On a related note, I just finished booking Mr. Nader on BBC’s version of Nightline. Ralph said the international media were showing up the US media. So I tried booking him on Nightline again and a senior producer at the show (Dan Morris) said no thanks.

I asked him if he had covered the main two candidates. He said yes. I asked why he didn’t cover the guy polling in third place. He smugly said: “We tend to profile the people who have the greatest chance of winning.” I asked him if he felt there might be a catch-22. He said with a chuckle, “You think he would win if we put him on the program?”

I can see why Ted Koppel moved over to BBC.

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