I get your point, NiceGuy, but the Party and the candidate should have their own pollsters. If they rely on these public polls they're idiots. Which is entirely possible. Because they are idiots.
I think it's more like Akin is an egomaniac, who after having served in the House now feels he is entitled to the Senate seat, even though at best he could only serve 2 terms at the most because of his age. I think it is more his own damn ego keeping him in than any skewed notion he can win. He'd think he could still win even if the polls had him at 10%.
But you're right. You have to look behind the scenes to see the agendas. No doubt this polling firm had that in mind when they skewed this poll. If Akin really relied on it, he's as big an idiot as he seems to be. And thanks to his ego, McCaskill will be re-elected, continuing the downward slide of aggregate IQ in the Senate. But then again, Akin wouldn't do anything to raise that, either. It's a wash.