Presidential Polls 2012: Skewed Polling and Biased Media Coverage Give Obama False Advantage

Townhall ^ | 09/26/2012 | John Giokaris

[SeekAndFind]

From its double standard on how the mainstream media has covered both campaigns, to the 2008-Democrat heavy polling models they use, to the lack of investigative reporting on the scandals associated with this administration, it has become blatantly evident that the mainstream media harbors a liberal bias, commits endless hypocrisies and will not hold this president up to the same standards it has for previous presidents.

Campaign Coverage

I find the messaging from both campaigns to be remarkably stunning. Despite both candidates being Harvard graduates and worth millions of dollars each, one is labeled as “out of touch” with mainstream America by the elitist New York news media, Hollywood celebrities and Washington insiders (as if they have any idea what’s “in touch” with mainstream America) while the other is not as he hosts $40,000-a-plate fundraisers and hob nobs on talk shows with these same millionaire celebrities and media personalities.

Furthermore, while the Romney campaign has kept its messaging solely focused on Obama’s record as president, his policies and his results, the Obama campaign has launched into personal character attacks against Romney, accusing him of waging a war on women, of being a felon by not paying his taxes, and even murdering a steel worker’s wife.

For its part, the mainstream media has done a thorough job covering Romney’s past, including tracing his family’s history all the way back to their Mexican roots, his father having once been on public aid, and the personal lifestyles of Mitt, his wife Anne, and their five sons.

But where was the mainstream media on Obama’s family history and professional career? Did you know that his grandparents deliberately moved to Mercer Island, Washington so that they could enroll his mother into the only openly Marxist school in America? Did you know that communist radical Frank Marshall Davis was chosen by his grandfather to be his political mentor? Did you know that he hasn’t released any of his personal records from his college transcripts to the list of legal clients he represented when he was practicing law?

These aren’t rumors, these are facts. Did it really take an independent documentary by an academic scholar to reveal this to the general public?

If the media is going to question Romney’s past, political views and “lack of transparency” in the national spotlight, I feel it is only fair that they do the same for Obama. But nothing short of a miracle would ever make that happen.

Polling

The liberal mainstream media and blogosphere are desperately trying to write Romney’s funeral using polls that oversample Democrats by as much a D+10, D+11 and D+13. In 2008, an historic election wave for Democrats, the electorate was D+7. In 2004, when George W. Bush won re-election, the electorate was evenly split. In other words, D+0. So was the 2010 midterm election: evenly split. The Democrat share of the electorate is not going to double this year. Given the well-noted enthusiasm edge for Republicans this year, the electorate is going to be far closer to the 2004 and 2010 models than 2008. Any poll trying to replicate the 2008 is going to artificially inflate Obama’s support.

But as pollster John McLaughlin explains, “The Democrats want to convince [these anti-Obama voters] falsely that Romney will lose to discourage them from voting. So they lobby the pollsters to weight their surveys to emulate the 2008 Democrat-heavy models. They are lobbying them now to affect early voting. IVR (Interactive Voice Response) polls are heavily weighted. You can weight to whatever result you want. Some polls have included sizable segments of voters who say they are ‘not enthusiastic’ to vote or non voters to dilute Republicans. Major pollsters have samples with Republican affiliation in the 20 to 30% range, at such low levels not seen since the 1960s in states like Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and which then place Obama ahead. The intended effect is to suppress Republican turnout through media polling bias. We’ll see a lot more of this.”

A certain pundit on this site (guess who?) provided a link to some web site claiming that a national average of 2012 election polls (without citing which ones specifically) shows Obama leading Romney in several key states when excluding Rasmussen polls, implying Rasmussen has a Republican bias. What they fail to mention is that a Fordham University study concluded that Rasmussen had been the most accurate pollster throughout the 2008 election (and that was Obama’s good year).

I could just as easily provide a link to another website that claims to unskew the polls’ oversampling of Democrats to show that Romney actually leads Obama (and they even list which specific ones). But whether you look at Rasmussen, which has been accused of leaning right, Gallup, which has been accused of leaning left, both are showing the same thing: this race is virtually tied.

Absence of Investigative Journalism

Perhaps the biggest evidence of all proving the mainstream media’s liberal bias is the fact that it has thus far failed to push any further into this administration’s scandals such as Fast and Furious or the Benghazi attack.

Back in college, I remember reading Bob Woodward’s and Carl Bernstein’s All the President’s Men in journalism class, chronicling The Washington Post’s journalistic efforts to uncover the Nixon administration’s scandal regarding the Watergate break-in. It was a scandal in which President Nixon and his cabinet were exercising “executive privilege” to prevent the release of internal documents as well as trying to pin the blame on lower level subordinates to feebly deflect criticism and responsibility of the break-in.

Déjà vu 2012, where President Obama stopped the federal investigation into Operation Fast and Furious dead in its tracks by exercising “executive privilege” to prevent Attorney General Eric Holder from having to hand over internal Justice Department documents on the federal firearms sting operation that allowed weapons to reach Mexican drug cartels. Fourteen lower level subordinates at the Justice Department and ATF then get pinned for the blame and that’s where the administration is hoping it ends. Will there be any further reporting from the mainstream media on this? Or is Obama’s rendition of Al Green more important?

Or what about the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya? Within a week’s time, we witnessed this administration claim that it was a spontaneous protest against an anti-Islamic American film that got out of hand and caught them off guard to a reluctant admission that this was a pre-planned, coordinated attack with possible assistance from al-Qaeda of which they were warned about.

Watergate was a campaign stunt. These are scandals where U.S. border patrol agent Brian Terry, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and others have died. But where are today’s Woodwards and Bernsteins?

Is it then any wonder that a new Gallup poll shows American distrust in the mainstream media is now at an all-time high?

You’ll probably be even less shocked then to find that a majority of Democrats (58%) trust the mainstream media “to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly,” while only 31% of independents and 26% of Republicans trust the mainstream media to do the same.

Romney clearly has his work cut out for him. Too bad he doesn’t send a thrill up their leg the way Obama does.

Editor's Note:This piece originally appeared at PolicyMic.

[Raycpa]

if you got a phone call from someone claiming to be a pollster, how would you respond? ,

I hold them in such contempt I would probably answer:

I'm a life long republican/tea party leader who plans on voting for Obama.

[Red Badger]

We can all assume as much or as little as we like. The only poll that matters is on November 6th.......................

[GilGil]

State run media’s fake poll numbers http://www.wnd.com/wnd_video/state-run-medias-fake-poll-numbers/

[Batman11]

“The all out crap from the media$$holes are to inoculate their BLACK TURD from the debates.....FOLKS THE FIX IS IN!! EVEN without one debate taking place the mediaRATS will declare Ovomit the victor!!! The headlines are already in the OVEN! Gosh it’s plain as day. THE economy is being forced off the table now because according to the mediaPIGS it miraculously improved in a span of one week, and according to them OBOZO ended the war...MY GOD, I hope Romney is prepared for the shameless spew that will radiate from the debates...which OJOKER already knows the questions....if they can lie boldface to us nightly without an iota of shame, do you think for one freakin moment they haven’t tossed the questions to their EVIL MASTER way already??!! AND as far as polls, I have a stinking feeling they are trying to draw out Romney’s team to reveal WHAT their polls indicate the direction the country is going to vote. I bet you anything their polls are a freakin mess and can’t make heads of tails of them. GET MAD and GET EVEN!!!”

I’m with you! I appreciate your passion! This is what I posted earlier today:

This is exactly why I would advise R&R to tell the State Run Media that they are not showing up to their Obama butt-kissing, dog and pony show, unless Mark Levin and/or Rush are also moderators. I don’t care if they don’t like it, they are our enemy. It would be a great opportunity to let the voting public know that they are not putting up with this crap anymore and expose the SRM for what the are. (Tass and Pravda rolled into one!) I don’t care if they have to broadcast 2 hours of Obama playing with himself. Do not let them set the agenda and frame these debates. They attempt, and succeed, at damaging our candidates every day. It is insanity to cowtow to them and let them damage our candidates to their faces! This is all a big fing set up!! Obama will have all the questions in advance! Tell the SRM to add conservative moderators, or to go pound sand!! This media bullshit needs to end!!

[yorkiemom]

I think that most of the polls are skewed. It's not necessarily intentional, but promoting them as accurate without pointing out the obvious oversampling of Democrats is intentional. A reputable pollster would never do it.

But, it's hard to get an unskewed poll these days. Many Republicans are disgusted with the media, and refuse to participate in the polls. Others are simply too busy -- they aren't at home to answer the phone. The only people that participate in polls these days are the ones with nothing else to do.

True. It seems there are few honest, reputable pollsters. I wouldn't think they'd be likely to put their reputation and livelihood on the line, but they do it. Even though we look at Gallup's numbers showing Carter winning and laugh about it - they are still in business.

[manc]

said 4 years ago the GOP should have called out the media and gone after certain folks and use facts against them but no we have the same old tired crap.

Voter fraud is still rampart, the media is still lying and covering for their messiah.
This is a cult we’re dealing with, no Dem or at least most cannot say they are better off today.

Food,
bills
gas
unemployment
food stamps.
foreclosures all up
income down
middle east is in flames.
muslims being appeased is having them demand more from us
oabma care is costing more than they first lied about
Debt way out of control

and WHY IS THE GOP NOT RUNNING AN AD SHOWING OBAMA SAYING BUSH IS UNPATRIOTIC BUT THEN SHOW HIS DEBT AND THEN HIM SAYING HE DOES NTO KNWO WHAT IT IS?

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD WE CANNOT AFFORD 4 MORE YEARS OF THIS IDIOT AND THESE RADICALS AND THE GOP FIGHT, i MEAN FRIGING FIGHT LIKE YOU FOUGHT NEWT and Sarah

[Salamander]

I do not understand their logic.

To try and convince me that ‘my side’ is behind only compels me even more to get my arse out and vote, even though I live in a deep blue state where it’s not going to matter anyway.

Call it a “spite vote”, if you will.

Win or lose, I will cast a vote -against- the Obamanation and will have that cold comfort, at least.

Why every American isn’t thinking like that is beyond me.

In 2008, I left the barely cold body of my dog who died suddenly that morning to go cast my vote...with a puffy face, runny nose and tears in my eyes...but dammit, I *went*.

Even if they ‘called it’ prematurely like they’ve done before, I’d *still* go...just in case.

I just do not understand some people.

>:-[

[Vaduz]

Agree

[Evil Slayer]

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Wall Street is expecting an easy win for Obama..how the hell do they know!

I believe he bases it on this site:

http://www.Intrade.com

This is the site where traders actually bet their own money on the results of certain events — elections being some of the biggest bets.

After the conventions, Obama has shot up to now a 75% (as at today) of being re-elected according to this site.

I guess this is where Gasparino bases what he says on.

[Sarah Barracuda]

InTrade has Obama winning at 75 percent..Good God I hope InTrade is not a reliable site..hopefully they are just relying on these BS polls for their reporting. I just cant believe the American People want to live in tyranny

[matginzac]

And my God, they were in full cry tonight on FOX’s Special Report...
According to the pundits, Obummer is running away with it...
Cripes, they are desperate.

[Lysandru]

Repeat after me...the problem is not "bias." It is "collusion."

"Bias" implies a tendency to favor a certain side in a debate or dispute. This is often unconscious or semi-conscious. But in this case, the State Run Media are active advocates for Obambi. They are overtly collaborting. This is not bias-- it is collusion.

[Red Steel]

Republicans this year, the electorate is going to be far closer to the 2004 and 2010 models than 2008. Any poll trying to replicate the 2008 is going to artificially inflate Obama’s support.

You can take that to the bank.

[RipSawyer]

“I wonder how many people would think that they voted when they get a phone call asking who would they vote for?”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I never thought of that before but there are probably quite a few! Of course ninety nine percent of them would be Obama voters. Those of us who have a clue about reality are at least a little smarter than that.

[RipSawyer]

2010 made it clear that if Obama had been on the ballot again he would have been put out yet they want us to believe that somehow he has far more support now than in 2010.