Mixed Messages or Media Wish Fulfillment?
By Truthteller on October 23, 2008 at 10:20 AM in Barack Obama, MSNBC, Media, Media Bias, Media Handling of Story, Misogyny, NBC, Obamedia, Sarah Palin
Earlier yesterday, the Associated Press claimed the race for the Presidency was tied with Obama at 44% and McCain at 43%. I quote:
The presidential race tightened after the final debate, with John McCain gaining among whites and people earning less than $50,000, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll that shows McCain and Barack Obama essentially running even among likely voters in the election homestretch.
The poll, which found Obama at 44 percent and McCain at 43 percent, supports what some Republicans and Democrats privately have said in recent days: that the race narrowed after the third debate as GOP-leaning voters drifted home to their party and McCain’s “Joe the plumber” analogy struck a chord.
According to the AP article, McCain closed the gap for the following reasons: he had a strong debate performance last week; McCain’s television advertisements on Obama’s encounter with Joe the Plumber resonated with voters; and many voters believe their taxes will increase under an Obama administration.
Yahoo News must be dissatisfied with the results of the AP‘s poll, for a few hours after the AP released the results of their survey Yahoo published a story on Sarah Palin entitled “A Drag on the Ticket?” Normally one expects to read titles that are nothing more than unfounded allegations in the form of a question at partisan blogs, not on the websites of news organizations. But we are dealing with the American press, who in my opinion have demonstrated that they are nothing more than a group of Daily Kos drones with desks in press rooms this election cycle.
Citing an NBC poll and quoting Obamabot Chuck Todd of MSNBC, Yahoo News claims voters have reservations about Sarah Palin’s qualifications. But notice how they are unwilling to aver that voters have reservations about Palin in the article’s title. Also notice how they acknowledge Palin’s popularity in the first paragraph of the article. Phrasing the allegation as a question, Yahoo News hopes to raise doubts in the minds of readers who might otherwise have a favorable opinion of the Republican Vice Presidential running mate. That is their wish, and they hope it will be fulfilled as it is interpolated in the minds of readers who mistake their partisan bilge for so much factual news.
Let us return to the AP article. According to the subjects they interviewed, voters have concerns about Obama’s qualifications, not those of Sarah Palin. I quote:
“I trust McCain more, and I do feel that he has more experience in government than Obama. I don’t think Obama has been around long enough,” said Angela Decker, 44, of La Porte, Ind.
Notice how Yahoo News only quotes Obamabot and Washington elite political insider Chuck Todd, not an ordinary voter from the state of Indiana. If they bothered to interview ordinary voters, they would discover that most working Americans view Obama as unqualified.
But also notice why Yahoo News feels compelled to raise doubts about Palin. According to the AP poll, Caucasian voters and lower income voters who actually work for a living are abandoning Obama. I quote the AP again:
- Posted big gains among likely voters earning under $50,000 a year; he now trails Obama by just 4 percentage points compared with 26 earlier.
- Surged among rural voters; he has an 18-point advantage, up from 4.
- Doubled his advantage among whites who haven’t finished college and now leads by 20 points. McCain and Obama are running about even among white college graduates, no change from earlier.
- Made modest gains among whites of both genders, now leading by 22 points among white men and by 7 among white women.
- Improved slightly among whites who are married, now with a 24-point lead.
- Narrowed a gap among unmarried whites, though he still trails by 8 points.
- McCain has cut into Obama’s advantage on the questions of whom voters trust to handle the economy and the financial crisis. On both, the Democrat now leads by just 6 points, compared with 15 in the previous survey.
- Obama still has a larger advantage on other economic measures, with 44 percent saying they think the economy will have improved a year from now if he is elected compared with 34 percent for McCain.
- Intensity has increased among McCain’s supporters.
How does one reduce McCain’s advantage with Caucasian women? How does one convince voters that the unprepared Obama has enough experience to address our current economic woes? How does one temper Palin’s appeal with rural voters? How does one neutralize McCain’s recent surge in the polls? The question to all these questions is to portray Sarah Palin, the woman who is drawing large crowds everywhere she campaigns, as unqualified, inexperienced and divisive. Misogyny determined the outcome of the primary, and it will surely sway some voters during the general election. Or at least this is the media’s wish.
So Yahoo News will publish questionable polling data from NBC on the same day one news organization announces that the race for the Presidency is tied. While some would interpret this as a mixed media message, I prefer to view it as so much media wish fulfillment. After all, the media dreams while its indolent reporters sleep.
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