For whom the bell curve tolls

Gary Langer, polling director for ABC News, marks the passing of the Los Angeles Times' polling unit, a victim of Tribune Co. budget cuts. The Times put out its final poll nine days ago; it was an analysis of the growing economic uncertainty felt by many Americans in this economic recession*. The Times poll started 31 years ago and has been overseen by Susan Pinkus since 1995. She and her staff are being laid off.

Langer writes:

Does the loss of a single polling outfit matter? If it’s a good one, sure it does. Even when well done, a single poll often is insufficient to illuminate public opinion fully; like a flashlight on the road, it takes a bunch of them, shining in the same direction, to show the way. Without the L.A. Times Poll, our path forward will be a little less well-lighted.

*A link to the poll results. Americans are very down on Wall Street firms handing out bonuses this year.