Ralph Windle

In days of yore, they tell me, an American election
Was to find the nation’s leaders by some process of selection;
But it’s pretty clear by now that that’s the secondary answer –
It’s a pick-me-up for Pollsters and an Analysts’ bonanza !

There’s Yankelovich and Skelly doing Time or on the telly
Crawling out from every profitable stone;
And from Jacksonville to Paris there’s a Gallup or a Harris,
Dissecting every segment to the bone !
And it’s all so scientific (and the profits so terrific),
That the candidates have even got their own !

But the self-respecting voter who’s not in some sample quota,
Feels he’s stigmatised and subject to a sleight;
So the only fair solution is to change the Constitution,
And guarantee we’re sampled as a basic human right !

( from ‘The Making of a President’)