42-24??

PREEMPTIVE UPPESTDATE: The numbers are real. The poll may not be. On the CTV nightly news, Lloyd Robertson as much as said "this is a rogue poll," before moving on to other business. PREEMPTIVE UPPESTDATER: Weird. CTV first pulls the poll from its website, putting in its place this story -- a wire-service rewrite that claims Tory support has "receded" (to 10 points up!). Then it puts it back up. But it's not on its Poll Tracker page. Nor is there any mention of it on the Globe's site, except in paragraph nine of this story. There is, however, a live, intimate-and-interactive online chat session with Allan Gregg, managing partner of The Strategic Counsel (no mention of it there, either, by the way), slated for 2 pm today. I suspect readers may have a few questions for him. UPPESTDATEST: Ah, here it is -- buried on page 7. They seem embarrassed by it. Now read on to see how the story first broke... ---- So, the Globe's Gloria Galloway, travelling with the Harper campaign, casually drops into paragraph eight of her most recent dispatch, the following:

New poll numbers from the Strategic Counsel Tuesday that give the Conservatives 42 per cent support among decided voters -- compared to 24 per cent for the Liberals ...

42-24?? Eighteen points? Is this a typo? A slip? Wha...?

I feel a Hindenburg coming on ...

UPDATE: The offending graf has been removed from the story. Not corrected: removed. Which suggests...

UPPERDATE: Here's a screenshot of the graf as it first appeared:

REALITY CHECK: Decima makes it 10 points, 37-27. SES has the Tories up 7 points, 37-30. Ekos puts it even closer, 36-30. But yesterday Ipsos said the Tory lead was 12 points, while Strategic Counsel was pointing to 13.

Six, twelve, eighteen. The pollsters have some 'splainin' to do. Again.