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Posted on 09/30/2003 6:33:43 AM PDT by RatherBiased.com
"When a politician is behind he doesn't believe in the polls," CBS correspondent Jerry Bowen began his Monday report on the California recall, though Bowen could have just as easily been referring to his own network's habit of casting doubt on surveys unfavorable to Democrats while trumpeting favorable ones.
In their coverage of the recall, Dan Rather and CBS have maintained this tradition. Over the weekend, the Gallup Organization released a survey showing very strong support for removing Davis and and Schwarzenegger running well ahead of other candidates. There has been some criticism of the poll as being inaccurate. Appropriately, Rather decided to report on it:
"It's just over a week now till the California recall election," Rather began, "And Democratic governor Gray Davis and Republican challenger Arnold Schwarzenegger now see it as one-on-one combat, no holds barred. And then there's the latest poll that is also in the mix tonight as a subject of controversy, Jerry Bowen reports."
While Rather and Bowen, who has been assigned to cover the recall, mentioned the possibility of the poll being inaccurate (including Davis's objections) neither ever cast doubt on earlier surveys that augured ill for Davis's Republican opponents. In fact, they promoted them.
In mid-September, the Los Angeles Times released a poll which claimed that support for the recall was decreasing and that Schwarzenegger was trailing lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamente by a fair amount. The Times poll was criticized for predicting far lower support for the recall than every prior survey, but instead of mentioning these criticisms, Bowen's Sept. 15 report cast no doubt on the report.
The week previously, Field Research released a poll indicating that lower support for the recall and that female voters were put off by Schwarzenegger. Inspired by a Sept. 9 piece in the New York Times, Rather and Bowen ran a story that same day on "the candidate's latest problem: trouble with women" which completely accepted the Field Poll findings and featured no sound bites from Schwarzenegger or one of his supporters disputing the poll.
As one can see, this poll is not all that alone. Also it is the first major poll after the debate.
Basically, the argument goes, that the results that Gallup obtained were skewed towards the pro-recall, pro-Schwarzenegger crowd because they estimate that the turnout will be 45% Republican. Democrats argue that Republicans only comprise around 35% of the registered voters in California.
What they don't address, however, is that only 47% of Californians voted for Gray Davis last time. Nor do they explain how more Democrats are going to be enticed to vote for a person that has seen his favorability ratings only go south since that election a year ago.
They can argue that there is no way that 45% of the voters will be Republicans this time, but they comprised almost that amount during the last election.
Look at those post debate polls roll in, AndyTheBear shown to be brilliant once again.
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