[Common Tator]

When they don't mention polls, the Repubican is winning big time.

The way the national media lies or igores things they don't like came home to me big time in 1980.

For many years it was my custom to anchor the election coverage on my radio stations. I had been anchoring presidential election coverage since 1960. In 1980 I had access to the ABC feeds, including the conference calls, the ABC wire, and the Associated Press wire. All said we were in for a very very close presidential race. Later I learned that ABC new it was a Reagan landslide. They had knows since noon on that election day. It was now 7.5 hours later and they were still telling all the stations and newspapers that it was going to be very very close. They knew it was a Reagan landslide.

I opened my election coverage by going to my local reporters and analysts. Since no returns had been counted, they went over the races we were going to cover. At the end I went over the national races. I had just told by audience that we might be in for a very long night, when my producer signaled me to join the ABC network in 60 seconds. They were going live to Plains Ga. for the Carter concession. Abc even ran a story that it was too close to call after Carter had conceeded.

Pat Buchanan was working at CBS that election. He took an early lunch in order to be back for the first exit poll results. When he got back just after noon, the exit polls showed a big Reagan win. Yet CBS did not tell a single affiliate or put it on their wire. Yet in 2000 they were putting out the word everwhere that Gore would likely win.

There is one thing you can bet the farm on. If the media does not tell you, it is not because they think you don't want to know. They think it will be better for their political agenda if you don't know.

If the rolls were reversed, every story would start out with the line that Dole was in big trouble. Bet the farm that Dole is looking like an easy win.

[Torie]

I think all this accounting and corporate fraud is dangerous for the Pubbies. They need to move on it.

[Zack Nguyen]

By now you must think that I am cyber-stalking you. :) I promise that is not the case - I just find your comments intriguing.

In 2000, wasn't it proven that the networks delayed announcements of Bush victories by hours?

It is a wonder that Republicans ever win anything. There remains a core group of voters left in America who actually think for themselves and have a brain.

[joesbucks]

I agree with your analysis.......BUT......the networks aren't supposed to report exit polling. I seem to remember some grief when it was reported (in error) in Florida that it appeared Gore was going to carry the state by the national media. The problem was the announcement was made assuming all of Florida is in the Eastern time zone. Portions of the panhandle are in the central time zone and polls hadn't closed there when the announcement was made. I remember hearing talk show after talk show with people calling in from the Panhandle claiming to be going to vote for GWB, but turned around when it appeared that their vote was going to be in vain.

If I recall, the polls had only shifted in the last few days prior to the election and some were assuming that the shift to Reagan was noise rather than actual quantifiable polling information. At that time, there were much fewer national polls that would have provided a check and a balance.

So it's little wonder that Buchanan may have known exit polling results knowing that Reagan could win big......however the information was legitimately embargoed.

Should they have continued with the dis-information that it was still going to be close. I don't know, with the exception of the potentially wrong polling data from the day or two before the election, there could have still been a shift back to Carter. But exit polling shouldn't have been revealed until the polls were closed in most states.