Opinion: Polls have value, even when they are wrong - Chattanooga Times Free Press

An ABC News/Washington Post poll last month generated outrage among Democrats.The headline on the story, "Trump edges out Biden 51-42 in head-to-head match-up: POLL," appeared designed to attract clicks rather than accurately portray where the race was on that day — or where it was headed.Below the headline, the news organizations' analysis of the poll results was far more nuanced, capturing the challenges confronting President Joe Biden in his bid for re-election and acknowledging the poll results may be an outlier.Pollsters are always interested in horse race numbers, which provide a simple comparison of where the candidates stand if voters had to cast their ballots on the day the poll was conducted.But we are much more interested in what is happening beneath the surface.LetTitle