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So I was idly paging through CNN.com and came across this headline:

July 2, 2008
Poll shows Americans cool to Michelle Obama
Posted: 10:30 AM ET

Oh brother…aside from the fact that a candidate’s spouse should be a virtual non-issue and so should everybody’s opinion of him or her–

The new Associated Press-Yahoo poll shows 30 percent of Americans view the outspoken wife of Barack Obama favorably while 35 percent view her unfavorably. That compares to the 27 percent of Americans who view John McCain’s wife, Cindy, favorably and the 17 percent who hold an unfavorable view of her. Mrs. McCain is clearly less known than Mrs. Obama — 56 percent said they don’t know enough about the Arizona senator’s wife to render an opinion while only 34 percent said the same for Mrs. Obama. She’s been at times a lightning rod for criticism from some Republicans over the course of the presidential campaign, and a new poll out Wednesday suggests more Americans hold a negative view toward Michelle Obama than a positive one.

White Americans appear particularly suspect of Mrs. Obama. The poll shows those voters hold an unfavorable view of her by nearly 20 points while about 80 percent of black voters reported positive feelings about Mrs. Obama.

Those numbers are reversed for Cindy McCain: whites view her favorably by a margin of 17 points while only 10 percent of blacks like her.

In a similar trend line her husband faced during the primary season, Mrs. Obama’s favorability ratings are higher among unmarried people and college graduates while her ratings are particularly low among senior voters.

Mrs. Obama also appears to drum up stronger opinions among voters than does Mrs. McCain. About 20 percent of voters said they hold a very negative view of her while 10 percent said the same for Mrs. McCain.

Okay, well, I thought, I guess I’m not surprised (the outspoken wife–has any man EVER been referred to as the outspoken husband? sigh)…so I finished the article and continued my random clicking through the site and then–huh?

July 2, 2008
CNN Poll: Candidates’ wives viewed favorably
Posted: 01:40 PM ET

Now waitaminute…didn’t I just read–

According to the new poll, 51 percent of registered voters report a favorable view of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s wife while 28 percent hold an unfavorable view. Just over 21 percent did not express an opinion.

Meanwhile, 39 percent of registered voters hold a favorable view of John McCain’s wife, Cindy, while 23 percent report an unfavorable rating. The poll also shows she is considerably less known than Mrs. Obama — nearly 40 percent report having no opinion of her.

Conclusion: Poll results based on about 1,000 random citizens in a country of nearly 300,000,000 have absolutely no bearing on reality. I’ve always suspected as much.