Then the public would shrug, and go back to their morning coffee or evening meal. Quite frankly, the public are smarter than you, Nige.
They know that ALL politicians, regardless of their political stripes, trade almost solely in rubbish, lies, and shameful half truths.

You mean like Gordon Campbell does every week?

To do that they need reporters to back them and nod approvingly when they speak and be slightly afraid of them. Sadly most reporters are in awe and fear of National and don’t privately rate Shearer or Labour. National continues to get a pretty easy ride and stay up in the polls.

If a respected reporter came out and angrily said enough of this rubbish, the lies and half truths are shameful (I’m thinking The Hobbit, Sky City, Kim Dot Com, John Banks) and consistently stood up to being cunningly spun, we would see a change in the polls.

Yes, it’s all about the hypnosis of telly (and radio to a lesser degree). The pundits are immensely powerful as they frame the debate, allow airtime to who they like and give tacit approval and disapproval signals for audience to pickup on.

The regression is weighted to election results. Thus, a Green poll result has about 2% subtracted from it, and a Labour one has 3% added.

This puts NZ First and Labour vote at several percent above their poll performance (their voters wake from their slumber triannually), and National and Green vote below (National voters disproportionately answer their landlines, traditionally many Green voters stay home or switch by election day). The assumption is that these trends will remain accurate, and in the absence of intervening information which an election would provide, it’s a reasonable assumption.