Poll: Steve Novick is for Real

My general feeling about polls is that they should always be taken with a grain of salt. That "margin of error" thing (a mix of variables like how the question is presented, how diverse are the people polled, and whether something has recently occurred that might skew the results) leaves me thinking that they aren't always a very accurate reflection of reality (just look at some infamous exit polls for president). None the less, if taken with that mighty grain, they can be good indicators of more generalized trends.
This gets me to the poll conducted for KATU News regarding the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate (see entry below). Now, I'm sure that the Merks are spinning this negative poll as much as the Clinton spell weavers do on the delegate count trying to make it seem insignificant using the critiques I have listed above. Either that or they are pretending not to notice. It is just a poll. Still, deep down, they cannot be feeling too hot about the results. Even with the %4 margin of error, the poll indicates that Novick is now clearly the front runner. Heck, Merkley doesn't even place second in the poll! After all the big name endorsements, after all the slick political hype, after the negative campaigning against Steve, and after the City Club debate, Jeff Merkley came in third.
So to all of you that doubted the legitimacy of Steve's campaign, to those of you that said he wasn't a good enough politician, to all of you that said that he does not have mass appeal I say: Eat It!
If there is one thing that people should know is that regardless of political stripe the people of Oregon vote for fiery and unique individuals. Below is a list of Oregon politicians who did not fit the mold of "politician" or who did not adhere to their party's platform, people who thought critically for themselves and who saw their fellow citizen as fellow Oregonians before labeling them based on political affiliation.
Rock on Steve Novick! I hope to soon be adding your name to this honored list of rogue civil servants of my fair state.

Independent Thinkers of Oregon Politics
Peter DeFazio
Earl Blumenauer
Bud Clark - "Expose Yourself to Art"
Les Aucoin
Tom McCall
Oswald West
John Kitzhaber
Wayne Morse
*This list is by no means complete. Feel free to nominate your favorite politician from Oregon in the "Comments" field.