One of the terrific features that pollster.com first introduced to the polling junkies a few years back is the ability to remove pollsters from their aggregate (TPM's Poll Tracker gives you the same wonderful feature, but Pollster did it first).
It's a feature I have used ever since it was available, and this year it's especially fun to do. For example, this is just Rasmussen and Gallup (aka "the trackers," short for daily tracking polls):
And this is everyone else:
Notice any difference? I did, and it bothered me.
When polling data doesn't make sense, I turn to the experts. In this case, here are some important observations by Mark Blumenthal and Alan Abramowitz on the tracker conundrums:
• Polling Party Identification: Rasmussen and Gallup vs. Everyone Else (Alan Abramowitz, Daily Kos)
• Why has Obama Taken the Lead in the Gallup Poll? (Alan Abramowitz, HuffPost's pollster.com)
• Gallup Poll's Race Issues Should Be Singled Out (Mark Blumenthal, HuffPost's pollster.com)
• Race Matters: Why Gallup Poll Finds Less Support For President Obama (Mark Blumenthal, HuffPost's pollster.com)
I understand that not everyone will agree, but the other feature of the polling graphs is that they are clearly marked as "customized," and you can easily add the trackers back in if you so desire. The action is transparent.
When there are better explanations for the discrepancies from the pollsters, I will add them back. I will appreciate feedback about new data that should make me reconsider. Until then, the aggregates sans Rasmussen and Gallup will be my standard.