The new CNN poll numbers don’t tell the whole story.

As Drudge points out, CNN blasted inboxes this morning with its new poll numbers, claiming a “14-point gain” in support for President Obama’s health-care plan among speech-watchers. However, CNN’s methods are questionable. As CNN writes at the bottom of its report:

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted just before and just after the president’s speech, with 427 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.
The sample of speech-watchers in this poll was 45 percent Democratic and 18 percent Republican. Our best estimate of the number of Democrats in the voting age population as a whole indicates that the sample is about 8-10 points more Democratic than the population as a whole.

CNN’s sloppy poll, not its numbers, is the real news story here. NewsBusters is also on the story. As one reader wrote on the website for the Kansas City Star: “A CNN POLL! Wow, now that is credible . . . lol.”