… While a focus group of just a dozen voters is hardly a cross section of the entire electorate, this kind of qualitative research provides a color and texture that is simply not available through normal quantitative polling that surveys hundreds or thousands of voters. By examining average Americans’ actual words, voices, facial expressions, and body language, the “why” becomes more clear. The numbers just give you the “what.” …
The pushback from Thursday night’s focus group would be jarring to anyone who assumed that the nominations of Bush and Clinton are inevitable. When half a dozen voters in a conversation say they would back a law that would ban any Bush or Clinton from running, it makes you sit up and take notice. CONT.
Charlie Cook