You Can Spin Polls Either Way

From Drudge, an opinion poll, conducted by Ipsos, looks forward to the new year. Two different stories, both from the AP, differ quite a lot on how the data should be interpreted.

• An Associated Press-AOL News Poll: “Americans See Gloom, Doom in 2007”
• Same Associated Press-AOL News Poll: “Americans Optimistic for 2007”

So it seems that public opinion polls, like all the rest of the raw data about politics, can be spun pretty much the way you want to spin it.