Way to go, MSNBC

[EarlG]

Ah, it only seems like a few months since MSNBC was digging so deeply into polls that we knew exactly which way white male one-legged Ford Focus-driving beret-wearers were going to vote in the Democratic primaries. During the primaries you couldn't move for being smacked in the face with a poll - they were SO IMPORTANT. How can Obama win the general election if he can't win the white working class voters of West Virginia? How can Hillary win without the African American vote in South Carolina?

Today, MSNBC has been reporting on the multiple new polls which show Obama leading John McCain in pretty much all the battleground states, by margins ranging from a few points to double digits. How have they been reporting on these polls? Trouble for McCain? Obama opens up a lead?

Don't be silly. They've been running this hourly so far as a "Can you trust the polls?" story. Monica Novotny had Charlie Cook - a pollster - on this morning to explain how the polls are all junk and can't be trusted. Alex Witt just did the same story, noting that while some polls have Obama miles in the lead, others - such as Gallup - have the race as a dead heat. To analyze the story she interviewed someone from... Gallup. Gee, I wonder which poll he thinks is correct?

So far I have not heard anybody say "Er, could these trends be a serious problem for McCain?" Instead the entire focus has been, "Can you really trust the polls? It could be a lot closer than you think!"

Of course, whether we can trust the polls or not is really a moot point. The point is the way they're reporting on the story. When the race is tight, polls are all important. When Obama leads, suddenly the polls are suspiciously inaccurate.

I suspect the worst is yet to come though. They'll be content to ignore these good numbers for Obama - unless the polls show the race tightening again. If that happens, you can bet your ass that Obama's current high poll numbers - which they're dismissing as "unbelievable" at the moment - will suddenly become very real and verifiable. "Obama was up by double digits last month, but now he's running even with McCain! Trouble for Obama?!?"

Bah.

[babylonsister]

1. Bah is right; m$m is being very predictable; they've got their

marching orders.

I saw Susan Rice interviewed this a.m.; the talking heads were all over her about Obama's foreign policy. Not ONE WORD about McSame's. Again, Obama is being raked over the coals. We just have to be vigilant and call 'em out when we see it.

[EarlG]

7. I suppose it's expected in some ways

I would expect the front runner to receive more press attention - and therefore more negative press attention. That happens during all high-profile elections.

The problem is that they want to have their cake and eat it. They want to go after Obama as if he's the front runner, but at the same time they refuse to acknowledge that he IS the front runner.

[Cha]

48. Ah, the conundrum of what passes for mainstream

media in America.

[EV_Ares]

81. I saw that. Ya David Gregory & Scarborough basically ganged up on her and

Gregory's question about why haven's we been attacked since 9/11 and don't we have to credit GWB for that was such bs. However, I don't know what you thought but I was really, really impressed with Susan Rice. She knows her facts, she is strong, nobody is going to push her around as she showed Gregory and Scarborough. Did you notice that brought in another Repuke after she was gone to carry on their mission.

[babylonsister]

84. Yes, I watched the whole segment; she was very knowledgeable

and put them all in their places. She's a very good spokesperson for Obama.

[1776Forever]

98. Agreed - Obama is lucky to have such a great spokesperson!

:thumbsup:

[dennysp]

107. Maybe Sen. Obama Needs To Invite Reporters to his RANCH...

for a BBQ!! That's what McBush does, and they seem to lap up all the "cozy" atmosphere. Think BO's going to learn how to play the game in time?

[ErinBerin84]

2. haha, yup. I posted that one reporter looked positively EBULIENT

and crowed "Double digit leads for Obama, too good to be true?" Possibly, but most of the polls (aside from Gallup), have him anywhere from 5 to 15 points, so it's probably SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE! Every poll that shows a sizable lead is "Well, don't trust the polls", while polls showing them tied are "New poll out, definitely the authority on this race!"

[SoCalDem]

55. Like the "median income" on a two-house block

Median income? half a million.. one guy's unemployed and the other one's a millionaire...by their logic, that's a 500K "neighborhood"..

[me b zola]

64. I almost fell out of my chair

when I heard them discussing the majority of polls that had Obama up by 5 to 15 points, then they brought up gallup, the only national poll who has the two candidates in a dead heat. Who did msnbc decide was the out-lier? Yep, according to their twisted logic the obvious out-lier was the majority of the polls, and gallup was the only one to have it right. :crazy: :argh:

[blogslut]

3. It's a desperate mix

Of a need to make this campaign some sort of dogfight so that viewers will stay tuned, plus the ever present fear of the loss of media consolidation.

[Coexist]

4. I was watching that this morning, too.

the pollster actually inferred that the matching polls were all outliers and his single non-conforming one was probably more accurate.

[samsingh]

45. repug logic - 99 people are wrong - i'm right

[kentuck]

5. Advertising space is much more valuable in a tight race...

It is almost worthless if there is a runaway... :-)

[dogday]

6. I can't help but think about the polls and the odds-makers in 2004

and how wrong they were... It sounds like we are heading down that road again...

[defendandprotect]

69. ...the exit polls were right and have been right . . . they need to destroy them ---

Gore won 2000
Kerry probably won 2004

The only way the Repugs win is with steals ---

[Nite Owl]

8. I turned the tv on to hear that

all I could think is what if McSame was ahead by even a few points? They would be harping about how can Obama win this, can he catch up by November? What's the matter with Obama's campaign? Will the dems ever unify after the bruising primaries?

Can't ya hear it all now if it were the other way around?

Switched to Bloomberg, it's better to watch the market fall than this stuff.

[MagickMuffin]

9. The ONLY msnbc talking head who Speaks the Truth is Olbermann

The others are Spundits who seem to always want to inquire "What can help WcCaineyBush?"

I'm not sure how other talking heads on the Cable News reports this stuff. But msnbc is definitely rooting for WcCaineyBush.

[SusanaMontana41]

104. There's one on MSNBC who really ticks me off

I don't know her name, but she's a brunette who typically is on the air during the afternoon. A total McSame shill. Where'd she come from, Faux? When she comes on, I turn the channel to C-SPAN. { Should be there most of the time, anyway, except when KO and Bill Moyers are on.)

[dsc]

10. some of us tried to warn people about MSNBC

we were called racists and crackpots for our trouble. Glad to see some of you are coming our way.

[rodeodance]

16. well said. thanks

[Auggie]

22. I was an avid watcher for several years. It's dead to me now.

Except for K.O... occassionally.

[redqueen]

11. How gullible does one have to be to fall for that kind of spin?

About as gullible as the average voter? Bah indeed.

[crankychatter]

12. you nailed, it... AND I got my morning chuckle, thanks -- NT

[Window]

13. That's par for the course on MESS NBC. The only tv I'll be watching

is the Democratic Convention and election returns in November.

I hope many others will follow suit and their ratings drop through the floor.

[Auggie]

14. They're also creating news for themselves to talk about

Producers need something to keep talking heads like Matthews and Gregory on the air. What's better than to manufacture news based on ambiguous poll numbers? They don't give a damn if it's accurate or responsible. They want a close race -- it's good for ratings.

Besides, it keeps stories on climate crisis, war profiteering and impeachment off the airwaves.

[mopinko]

15. do polls create reality? do polls influence voting? you won't see that.

not a topic for polite society- just why does the horse race get all the press? do the phony polls cause perception that influences opinions?
which came first- the perception or the poll?

nope, they won't be talking about that.

[Patchuli]

17. There needs to be some serious

reform of the media. I'm pretty tired of hearing what MSM wants and the assinine way they go about spreading propaganda. Thank heavens for Keith Olberman, Jon Stewart, and all the others trying to break through the noise machine that is MSM. Meanwhile, they better learn how to SUCK UP to a Democratic President!

[DemocracyInaction]

18. Want to hear 3 other goodies?

Heard these three (of a zillion I could post here):

CNN: We like stirring trouble up, particularly among the democrats.

MSNBC: We're going to beat up this Unity rally all day - it's some of our last chances to bash the Clintons.

MSNBC: Guest on Matthew's remarked that most of this all day blather is paid attention to only by political junkies and not the general public and doesn't effect the voters. Matthews (with leering smile) said, "I disagree. I think it helps McCain".

Well, it's good to see the ghost of Tiny Tim still lives on!! Why don't they just come on the air and say "good morning, we are here to fuck Obama". Maybe we should write them and ask if this is a sign of "racism". Better still, maybe we should ask loud mouth Al Sharpton to jump on them (but then I'm not sure Al wants Obama to win).

[Mabus]

19. And what was with Novotny using "Obamacons" all morning?

I just thought that was a little weird.

[EarlG]

21. That's Obama's own term

He used it to describe Republicans who will vote for him. Like "Reagan Democrats."

Seems that MSNBC's reporting on this so far has been "Are there really such things as Obamacans or is it all a pipe dream?" Never mind the fact that there has been a huge drop in party ID for Repubs over the last few years and an equally large jump in party ID for Dems. Surely that's unrelated!

[Mabus]

24. But she seemed to be calling everyone an Obamacon

I heard her mention it a lot. Granted, I have the sound turned down and haven't been paying attention but I was struck with how many times I've heard it this morning.

[ErinBerin84]

25. haha, yeah..she keeps saying Obamacon....oh...Obamacan..

yet, she keeps repeating Obamacon. They also need to get the "rigidly liberal" dig in from Novak.

[Mabus]

26. It makes it sound like a cult

And she's using it over and over again like a kid uses a big word for the first time.

Maybe I'm a little oversensitive but the other day Andrea Mitchell asked every guest "will Obama help Clinton retire her campaign debt?" It was like she was following some kind of orders to hit that question hard. Now, it appears that someone told Ms. Novotny that she will get a cookie if she says "Obamacon" more than 50 times an hour.

[Cha]

49. Well, "cans" are better than "cons".

And, I like ObamaicansB-)

[smoogatz]

20. I think the horse-race thing has a lot to do with it, and I think flat-out bias

has a lot to do with it, too. But I also think the corp.-media types are honestly having some trouble accepting and understanding the political sea-change that's taking place in the U.S. They really don't know how to talk about it without appearing biased against McCain/conservatives, which is something they cannot do under any circumstances. So really, all they're left with is a lot of empty bloviating about whether or not the polls overstate Obama's lead. They can't characterize the race as "not close" without fear of unduly affecting the outcome. It's the same phenomenon as in the primary: even though Hillary had been mathematically eliminated for all intents and purposes as far back as February, the media kept playing it like they were essentially tied. It's ratings, it's bias, but it's also a fundamental failure to understand the dynamic, IMO.

[Gregorian]

23. And therein lies one of the greatest problems in America.

The thought machine.

[Nothing Without Hope]

27. The election can be stolen much more easily if there is a perception that

the numbers are going to be close. I see all this number juggling and trend twisting as an attempt to set the stage for exactly that. All too many US citizens are holding on (still!!!) to a comfortable belief that elections are sacred, that, as my Democratic and very intelligent sister-in-law insisted to me, "This is still America!!!" She heatedly denies any possibility that the 2000 and 2004 elections could have been tampered with. If the polls consistently show a double digit Obama lead near the election, and I think they will, then stealing the election with a McCain "upset victory" might cause some waves in even the most willfully blind. (Although I do believe that the Bush machine has been setting up the infrastructure to suppress even that. All those preparations for martial law and the big new US prison camps "for illegal immigrants.") If the wholly-owned corporate media machine can manufacture the fiction that the race is much closer, then the vote suppression, central tabulator hacking, vote machine reprogramming, and all the other cogs in the election theft machine can be unleashed with confidence that yet again this terrible crime will go largely ignored.

All too Orwellian.

[skooooo]

28. I have not heard anybody say...

"Er, could these trends be a serious problem for McCain?"

--

Yes, I've heard them talking about this being a problem for McCain quite a bit..

:shrug:

They've got to fill air time with something I guess.

[EarlG]

32. Fair enough

I hadn't heard it this morning, they seemed to be focusing on the polls being bunk.

[skooooo]

34. Yesterday anyway....

:hi:

[RedLetterRev]

73. G'd knows they certainly won't fill it with news n/t

[Indenturedebtor]

29. They're gearing up to steal it again. Can't steal an election that has a 20 point gap n/t

[KoKo]

40. Exactly....and the Voting Machine issues and problems are off the Dem Op's radar

as the Media prepares to set the stage for another "close" election. We know what that means...

[FourPieRun]

79. do you seriously believe there is a 20pt spread here? or even a 10pt spread? in reality, it is prob

probabaly less than 5pts nationwide.

[Indenturedebtor]

85. Obama is up by nearly 100 electoral votes in most polls

I think the only one where he isn't is the gallup, which places him at about a 5 point spread nationwide - the lowest of them all even after factoring in places like Arizona and KY.

[City Lights]

30. Your post is an example of why I'm watching Wimbledon.

The corporate media sucks and MSNGE is no exception.

[Blue_Roses]

31. well, I for one am just giddy today

here's hoping for the sake of unity...

MSNBC and the others are just beside themselves knowing that we have an awesome candidate.

:toast:

[danimich1]

33. I noticed this a couple days ago

I don't remember ever hearing so many reporters question the polls! WTF?!?!?!

[ErinBerin84]

35. they're trying so hard!

The headline right now is actually "Some Hillary supporters say Hill Yes! Obama no!" Contessa Brewer got mad when John Hardwood said that this group probably wouldn't make that much of a difference and said "But, they have websites! They've organized marches! They protested the finance meeting last night!" Uh, yeah, Contessa. I read that a whopping 20 people protested last night. I think we'll survive.

[berni_mccoy]

36. Well Said Earl. Bah Indeed!

[Symarip]

37. These 24/7 news channels aren't interested in reporting news

They're interested in making news. To simply report Obama winning, which he is, by yards instead of inches is far too cut and dry. And it doesn't really stir the pot and keep people sitting on the edge of their seat. Morning Joe, Wolf Blitzer, et al, are in the business of fabricating concern and raising doubt so we can remain interested and 'informed'. If they spout off enough 'what if' hypothetical questions and bring on a gazillion panel guests with thousands of different points of view, we might just tune in tomorrow to have all our fears put to rest. We've regressed as a society from having the news reported to an addiction of reality television based on current events.

It's complete bullshit.

[klebean]

102. Well said - thank you n/t

[Avalux]

38. In defense, I submit Dan Abrams.

I'm not really going to try to defend MSNBC or any MSM outlet, but I will say that Dan Abrams did a feature on these poll numbers and how they're being reported. He very clearly warned the media will do whatever they can to make this a horse race; even when the poll numbers show otherwise. Good on him.

We know the MSM will do this; otherwise the presidential race might become boring (gasp!) and they might lose viewers.

This is a totally unrelated point - but I did some traveling this week. In the airports in Boston and Newark, Obama t-shirts for sale right in with the standard local fare. I couldn't help but think what a genius move that is.

[ErinBerin84]

39. I think Dan is generally a good egg

Sometimes he's pissed me off (like the random 1 hour Wright special before the Indiana primary), but I like that he goes after the media for them ignoring certain things. I remember during the primary, in the POed box, someone wrote in "Why are you only reporting on Clinton and Obama and not McCain?" and his response was "Because! It's not the general election yet!" But the next day, he debuted his Teflon John segment. That should be a segment every day, there is so much to go on.

[krkaufman]

41. Personally, I have to wonder if they're not trying to make the race more competitive ...

... to boost their ratings, viewership and ad revenues. A blowout would be most unprofitable for them.

I briefly tuned-in to MSNBC the other day, only to immediately turn it off again on hearing Chris Matthew's astonishingly ask, "Can Obama be leading a war hero?", as though that is all the comparison to be considered... some guy named Obama having the temerity to campaign against a war hero.

[Bluenorthwest]

59. no need to wonder

All commercial television serves to sell adtime. That is what it is for. That is why they make up a narrative, and then report along those lines. They need a story, a series of evnents is not enough to keep the ads moving off the shelf.
Job one is selling time, and that is just a fact.

[mzmolly]

42. Suddenly they're suspicious of polls? I think now is the time to contact MSNBC and call them on

it? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3303518/

[Beaverhausen]

43. It's all about ratings. They aren't interested in the truth, they just want eyes on the TV

follow the money...

[samsingh]

44. simple solution with the msm

rich liberals can buy up the media outlets, view it as chartiy contribution if they must, then fire the propoganda personalities and producers and install true journalists.

[Johnny Noshoes]

76. "rich liberals can buy up the media outlets"

I know you mean well BUT man that is just TOO funny. Where were rich liberals with principals when Air America Radio could've used the help? No folks the rich liberals are not going to help us we are on our own.

[samsingh]

106. i know - where are the rich liberals - why don't they get on top

of the media.

murdoch is doing it with fox - making money on the one hand and investing it in promoting his ideology.

[Cha]

46. It's been this way as long as

I started watching cable n00ze in 1999..I stopped on Nov 6, 2002 but know from reading DU that nothing's changed except they're more blatant.

Hats off to those who do recon in keeping track of the enemy's latest propaganda.

[underpants]

47. After NAder's "talk white" comment CNN suddenly had his name on a poll

in a "don't forget about Ralph you liberals you" way

Saw this at the gym a few mornings ago.

[phrigndumass]

50. They read the polls the same way they read the bible ...

If it doesn't agree with what they already believe, then it can't be trusted. Find someone who agrees with you to tell you what it really means!

:crazy:

[TheDonkey]

51. wtf is wrong with cable news.

:puke:

[bdamomma]

61. they are spewing up crap

for us, and we should be quite aware of that. They have their "marching orders" as Babylonsister said. It is just * propaganda.

[Jennicut]

52. The good news is Obama IS basically beating McCain in almost all the polls

I feel better being an Obama supporter right now then I would be as a McSame supporter.

[Imagevision]

53. MSNBC like the rest do what they need to - to get YOU to come back for...more

they have sponsors and need to sell their popcorn! (that's my take)

[SoCalDem]

54. Stolen elections can only be "accepted" when the "polls are close"

things are "tight"..within the margin of error...ooooh almost tied..

Big media is sweating bullets right now.. Blow-out elections with big margins scare the crap out of them.

People are not hanging on every words they had to say when one person is way ahead.

The media NEEDS a horserace..a cliff-hanger.. They will CREATE one, if necessary..

They "know" that Gore won.. they also know that their exit poills were RIGHT for Gore and for Kerry..They backed down, and threw polls under the bus....and yet, they still NEED polls or they have NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT..

What a conundrum :)

[Imagevision]

56. Now all we have to be concerned about is bush attacking Iran before or after the election

[Career Prole]

57. No wonder they didn't call me!

I was wearing a tam o' shanter last month...the dang beret was at the cleaners!

A rec for the truth!

[Bette Noir]

58. Wouldn't it be nice

if we really did have a blow-out for Barack? An indisputable, 48-state tidal wave, sweeping in even bigger margins in the House and Senate?

I'm not expecting that much, but I'd sure like to see it. Even if it's a squeaker, though, I'll dance at Barack's inaugural ball. They won't invite me, of course, but I'll be there in spirit.

[depakid]

60. Amazing how blatantly they use (or commission) polls to influence public opinion

in America.

I've seen nothing remotely like it in other western nations.

One would think folks would get wise to this, yet more often what I see is people emulating the behavior right here on DU!

[iamahaingttta]

62. I played a little game with some coworkers today...

...something I do occasionally when people aren't understanding the Corporate Media and its agenda.

I held up a copy of today's New York Times.
I asked this question:

"What is the product, and who is the customer?"

While you contemplate the answer, here is the front page of today's New York Times.
The answer is below the fold.




What is the product and who is the customer?
All three coworkers got it wrong.

The customer is the advertiser.
The product is the demographic (readers), who's eyeballs are delivered each day to the advertisements.

The subscription/newsstand price does not even cover the cost of newsprint and delivery. You, the reader, are NOT the customer!

Think about this when you see stories like the one described about MSNBC.
On the one hand, the corporate parents may have an agenda to get the republican elected, because they think it will be better for GE's armaments business.

On the other hand, as a media company, MSNBC has a vested interest in making sure that they deliver as many eyeballs as possible to their customers, the advertisers. What better way to do that than to make certain that it is a close race? A lopsided race will make watchers watch something other than the news, or HEAVEN FORBID! go outside and toss a ball around with the kids. Or go for a swim. Or do some other happy-making thing that will make people feel good and not alleviate the pain of being alive by purchasing yet more consumer goods that they don't really need!

Please keep this in mind when watching "the news."

[depakid]

65. Excellent analysis and experiment!

:thumbsup:

[ut oh]

63. This is the Repub way to make the election race look close...

so they can steal it again in November...

If there's too much of a difference in the polls, they can't get away with it...

[jgraz]

66. Gotta maintain the illusion of a close race in case the Repugs steal it again

[defendandprotect]

71. Absolutely --- and destroy the exit polls---!!!

[tom_paine]

75. Exactly. n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

67. Don't look at the polls. Look at the crowds.

McSame is close!...yet he has NEVER drawn a crowd of more than a thousand, or so.

It's a "lying eyes" question.

[Westegg]

68. MSNBC wants what's good for MSNBC...

...plain and simple. They'll tell you "black" is "white" (uh, bad example-- rather, they'll tell you "hot" is "cold") if it suits their advertisers. And they're supposedly "liberal."

That being said, I'm ignoring all polls in this election because it'd be too easy to get complacent. Call me paranoid, but I'm anticipating an "October Surprise." I am, at least, very cynical.

[Gman]

70. There are only two ways to analyze polls

if they favor your candidate, they're so wonderfully accurate you even cite how they've been so accurate in the past.

if they're bad for your candidate, they're useless garbage and never have been right about anything and it's only a snapshot in time. (The best example of this is Zogby as the whipping boy.)

The only tweener is if you don't really think your candidate has a snowball's chance of winning but the polls show it closer than you think it should be or that it will end up being. In this case you don't know what to say because you know your candidate will lose and you don't want to stick your neck out.

[defendandprotect]

72. Is there any good reason to watch this garbage . . . ???

Am I missing something?

[tom_paine]

74. Our media is a transparent Soviet-style embarrassmnet and laughingstock

So, this is what it must have felt like (minus the fear of violence) to live in the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany and be the "One-Eyed Person in the Kingdom of the Blind". How awful!

And nobody sees, nobody notices, the noose tightens and everyone smiles with glazed eyes, metaphorically-speaking.

Even MSNBC, home of token liberal Keith Olbermann.

I'd laugh, but living in under Inverted Totalitarianism in what was once the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave but is now the Land of TV and the Home of the Slave, has pretty much killed my sense of humor.

[eridani]

109. It's also the land of nervous bedwetters with itchy trigger fingers n/t

[NoFederales]

77. Bah, indeed! Anyone trusting State-run CorpoMedia is worse than a fool. nt

NoFederales

[FourPieRun]

78. blowouts are very rare; that's what tells me some of these polls can't be trusted. nt

[Swamp Rat]

80. Way to go General Electric.

[cameozalaznick]

82. It's curious that they keep dredging up that old Dukakis poll

From all the way back in nineteen hundred and eighty-eight. And they get all breathy when they talk about it. "Oh, remember Dukakis was up by 16 points against George the 1st. Anything could happen. Here's PROOF!"

[spanone]

83. i feel a general trend to underreport obama's #'s to make it more of a horserace

it's all about ratings

[Recursion]

86. Blowouts don't get good ratings. Close races do.

I think the primaries in both parties were a good example of that; to stick with the GOP side, they kept covering Huckabee as a serious contender long after he had any realistic chance.

[Major Hogwash]

87. I agree, but the one thing they are missing is how much people can't stand Bush now.

The polls don't reflect how much Bush is dispised in America now.

Not even dyed-in-the-wool Republicans are going to "stay the course" and vote for McCain.
Real conservatives are not going to go to the voting booths this November and pull the lever for McCain just because he has an "R" behind his name on the ballot.

They think they have been hoodwinked by Bush and they hear the same two-faced lying bullshit coming out of McCain's mouth these days.
McCain could pick next month's Playboy model to be his vice president, it isn't going to help, they aren't going to vote for him just because he is a Republican.

Some will, of course, the 23% that approve of Bush.
I think it is a sad indictment of America that we have that many morons, but people keep telling me that all of those sick warmongering assholes that still believe in Bush are humans.
Maybe so, but I haven't seen any proof of it lately.

[mehrrh]

88. MSNBC media

Doesn't this go to prove that the media is more interested in conflict and disorder than they are in the real news? They spent months hyping and exploiting the heated rivalry between Obama and Clinton, and now that that is dissipating, they are not going to calm down - they will look for an avenue to exploit controversy even more. Obama is much more popular than McCain, but what "fun" is that for the media? They'd actually have to resort to reporting real news. Rather, they like to say how much "trouble" Obama may really be in because he's not crushing McCain (yet) -- also they like to create a controversy over the polls themselves. Pollsters have been so wrong so often in the past, this is nothing new, but the media will play up their inaccuracy either way, depending on whichever suits their exploitation of the sensational.
Finally, don't forget that the coporate moguls who run the media are without any doubt, conservative Republicans, so reporting the nonsensical numerous gaffes, errors, double-takes, changes of opinion by McCain, not to mention the conflict of interest by his family business and his campaign staffers - and should I mention his first wife? - that there must be some pressure not to let McCain appear as poor a candidate as he truly is because the race would be over before it even started.

[TexasObserver]

89. Yes, no matter what happens, it's always Obama who needs to worry about it.

The reality is that Obama has opened a can of whoop ass on McCain, all over the country. Instead of asking why that is happening, they're undermining the polls.

[Gabi Hayes]

90. David Gregory, when analyzing a new Time poll that shows O's lead

at five points, said that poll has come "back to reality"


WTF does that mean, Karl, I mean Dave?

your reality?

what IS your reality?

the reality you say is that his "activism" on offshore drilling is great, and that O is just opposing him?

no mention of his statement in MAY that that move is just a charade, that it AVOIDS dealing with the energy issue which we'll have to confront some day?

funny how you pounded the hell out of O's switch on funding, while ignoring both McCain's breaking FEC law by blowing off his own public funding for a loan when he had NO money, and for blatantly, hypocritcally switching his stance on drilling

too bad Joan Walsh didn't bother to bring it up

so sick of these "journalists" like her and Harwood not doing their job, when confronted by the RW pap of Gregory, Buchanan, and some other values jackass on DG's show

why do I watch.....

[ErinBerin84]

92. Is Rachel still on Race to the White House?

I don't really watch that show anymore, but whenever I have recently, she hasn't been on. I feel like she hasn't been on KO recently either.

[annabanana]

96. Vacation. . .

She is also "not on" her daily radio show. She'll be back Monday (probably on Gregory too)

[ErinBerin84]

114. good, thanks

[WinkyDink]

91. "Can't trust the polls?" Gee, just like the exit-polls in 2000 were deemed "unreliable"? Sounds

like stage-setting to me.

[rosesaylavee]

93. It's all about ratings and money - Not truth or journalism

If it's a horse race, they will make more money. This is EXACTLY what they did to Gore in 2000. Of course, anyone with half a brain who is not racist knows that Obama is the best choice of the two.

[Canuckistanian]

94. Now that the presidential race has been simplifed to a PAIR of numbers

They're going to have a hard time spinning this in any way for McSame.

So, they fall back on "margins of error" and "sample sizes" to imply that statistics are somehow "a fuzzy art" and not to be taken seriously.

Funny, but I remember a time JUST AFTER 9/11, when the pollsters' word was considered to be inscribed on stone tablets, carried to us mortals by angels.

[Politicalboi]

95. And the saga continues

I have said for a while now that I think the polls are wrong. I mean the non event in Az with McGoo and Bush was the key. McGoo can't fill a stadium with or without Bush in his own state. The only reson to make it seem close of course is to steal it again.

[rucognizant]

97. I was rejected by a poll today.

Yes I am over 18 yrs old. Yes I use the Internet. "Thank you very much we have enough Internet users. Good bye"
No clue what the were polling????
But before supertues, I was rejected by AP ipso for being over 65.

[3littlebirds]

99. It's to keep it even

I wouldn't be suprised if it came out of the pentagon budget. It's part of the war on terror. It is owned by GE, it makes sense. It is just to keep it at an even poll so they can steal another election. They can't steal it if there's a big difference in the polls. It's not ratings, they get paid for all that propaganda. As Karl Rove said "We create your reality, when you catch on we change it, this is an empire now. GE brings it to us all day.

[tbyg52]

100. Yeah, and they'll debunk the exit polls come November. nt

[HughMoran]

101. Dumb asses. To be fair though, Abrams was asking "is it going to be a blowout?"

Abrams (Thursday night) was noting that indeed Obama might me on the way to a rout.

I guess the day crew had to do the opposite to "be fair" - ass holes.

[orleans]

103. great point. n/t

[YvonneCa]

105. How about body language...

...analysis?


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6421626&mesg_id=6421626




The MSM has already lost it...and we still have four months to go. :scared:

[rasputin1952]

108. i suck at predictions, I thought the American people were smart

enough o keep bush out of the WH for a second term....but I'm going to take a chance here; McCain is going to lose by over 30 points. He has nothing. 5+, years as a POW, (hero my ass), 6 crashed planes, graduated 8th from the bottom in his class at Annapolis...w/2 Admirals in the family...you'd think they'd teach him something about the Navy!

100 year war, more money for the wealthy that would invest it off shore spigots. He sounds like an idiot, looks like death warmed over, another R that gave up on one wife to get a richer one...after the first one waited 5+years.

Economic plans...:"Ecomomics is not my strong point"...Neither is being a pilot John.

To put this plainly, John McCain is the classic whore, he gave up on a wife who hoped for 5+ years he'd get out OK, then ran off with a rich woman who looks like an alien. I give him one "debate", ans it is off to his his coffin during the day. The man is a a moron.

As far as "polls", the reality is that he is at about 15%, just about where bush is. Get the shovel and start digging the grave, he's gone.

[natrat]

110. and remember, "exit polls don't matter"

[sourmilk]

111. Only the first step towards voter fraud in November...

Remember the exit polling in 2004 and the M$M's meme that exit polls are so wildly inaccurate that they could not and should not be trusted?

In order to discredit the legitimacy of Barack Obama's candidacy and set him up to have his 2008 Presidency stolen from him, they are now casting doubt on legitimate pollsters. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that we will hear more about polls misrepresenting the electorate, about "biased" polling, push-polling and finally, we may have some set-ups of "fraudulent" pollsters in an effort to make the inevitable "Obama-positive" electoral outcome seem to be closer than it actually is.

Consider that African-Americans, Hispanics and Native-Americans are all overrepresented in terms of voter disenfranchisement, machine manipulation, destroyed voter registration and voter fraud statistics. Consider, as well, that they also represent a significant proportion of Obama's "base." I believe that we are going to see many more fraudulent voter registration "throw-aways" and falsified voter challenges at the polls in 2008 than in any election previous - especially in those (9 or 10?) states that have recently passed Voter ID initiatives.

We are going to hear a lot of smears regarding the Democratic electorate in 2008. We are going to hear that pollsters are "left-wing" and biased towards the Democratic Party, that polls aren't as close as they would appear...Voters in Districts with Democratic majorities and voters in "BattleGround" districts will be more heavily challenged than elsewhere, malfunctioning and missing voting machines will appear in traditionally Democratic districts, Democratic voter registrations will be thrown away using every pretext available, voter roles will be "purged" of "foreign-sounding" names and "felons" (or people with names similar to felons), just like they were in 2000 and 2004.

We will then be presented with a fraudulent and stolen Repiglicon election victory that the RW pundits will use as ULTIMATE AND FINAL PROOF that what they were saying about Democratic voter fraud and misrepresented pollsters was entirely valid all along. They will keep on this meme until a weary electorate (let's face it - 2 years of electioneering is too damn long!) submits in apathy, disgust and horror.

Just as it's been done before, it will be done again. I wish I could be more "upbeat," but my mistrust of the US electoral system and the Repiglicon Party is just so damn acute after the pathetic results of the last two "elections" that I cannot muster up enough optimism this time.

We must defeat and disprove their fraudulent "polls cannot be trusted" meme at every turn or the RW-Smear-Attack-Lie Machine is going to ONCE AGAIN beat us into the earth, come election day.

[workinclasszero]

112. The MSM are tools of their corporate masters

Puppets on a string, etc.

Obama's people power will wipe them out this fall!

[Seabiscuit]

113. All according to script: marginalize & ridicule Kucinich, ignore Edwards, destroy Hillary,

promote Obama, then pretend the voters are evenly split between Obama and McCain. Coming Up Next: Take Obama down with a steaming pile of smears and build up the "war hero" myth about McCain as if he's America's only hope against fear, fear, fear, fear, fear. As if sitting in a Vietnamese prison for 5 years makes him a foreign policy expert and some kind of genius on the "war on terra".

Edward R. Murrow must be rolling over in his grave.