Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Oh, THAT liberal media!

From the Drudge Report comes another entry for the "Real Shocker File". Seems the L.A. Times is manipulating their polling data to imply some kind of nationwide support for a Kerry presidency, when the data actually show just the opposite. Stunning, I know.
TWISTED: LA Times Poll Had Sample With 38% Democrats, 25% Republicans
Tue Jun 15 2004 10:13:47 ET

Sen. John Kerry "has taken big lead," according "to an L.A. Times poll."

But the Times poll that showed Kerry "beating Bush by 7 points" has created a controversy over whether the poll's sample accurately reflects the population as whole, ROLL CALL reports on Tuesday.

"Not counting independents, the Times' results were calculated on a sample made up of 38 percent Democrats and 25 percent Republicans -- a huge and unheard-of margin," ROLL CALL claims.

Developing...
OK, let's apply a little 4th grade math here.

Assuming Independents make up the remaining 37% of the sample, they would have to be split this way in favor of Bush (21.5% + 15.5% = 37%) to show an overall 7-point lead for Kerry...

21.5% Independents + 25% Republican = 46.5% favoring bush
15.5% independents + 38% Democrat = 53.5% favoring Kerry (7-pt. lead)
...and that's assuming he has the support of his own party. I (and many others) strongly suspect there will be many more Democrats breaking rank and voting for GWB, than there will be Republicans voting for the most liberal Democrat in the senate.

So the headline should have read:

"Bush Leads Kerry by 16 points among Independent voters"

Nope, no liberal bias in the media here.