As John McCain Leads in the Polls – Obereman and Matthews downgraded by NBC

There is an interesting piece of data in the USA Today/Gallop poll that gives John McCain a decent bounce from the RNC Convention – who was polled. The article notes the following: “In the new poll, taken Friday through Sunday, McCain leads Obama by 54%-44% among those seen as most likely to vote. The survey of 1,022 adults, including 959 registered voters, has a margin of error of +/— 3 points for both samples.” One has to wonder, why those 63 unregistered voters were included in the poll in the first place and how it might affect the results – it begs the question: How then can this particular poll have an error of margin of plus/minus 3 points? One has no doubt that McCain received a considerable jump in the polls and that Palin has served to stimulate that fact, however, any data and or “news” article coming from a media that is so clearly biased, has to be viewed with a bit of skepticism.

The news that MSNBC is reigning in Oberman and Matthews after their antics during both conventions, should come as no surprise. The article appearing in the New York Times, noted that the “experiment” of placing two “incendiary” hosts in an anchor position appears to have failed. The fact that the experiment was allowed to continue while the ratings for this network tanked, not the fact that the two became an “embarrassment” (also true), may have had more to do with NBC’s decision. Additionally, the article notes that this move came after Sarah Palin harpooned the media for bias, chants of "NBC” were heard coming from the RNC Delegates. Considering that anyone with minimal knowledge of the electoral makeup knows that 50% of the country leans right and 50% leans left (based on the last two elections), ramming a progressive, inexperienced democrat (Obama) down the throats of Middle American night and night can only lead to one thing: losing that half of their ratings. Apparently, NBS understands that it has to appear to be a bit more fair in it’s coverage – note: remove Michael Moore from your speakers list, and/or add someone to the extreme right (if there is someone as extreme right as Moore is extreme left), but what about the rest of the media?

Sarah Palin: from the LA Times another sexist hit piece.
Sarah Palin: from the NY Times another hit piece on Palins motherhood (containing a few discrepancies if one has read or seen other stories from the Alaskan Press regarding Palin’s pregnancy - as if it is an issue at all).

As John McCain and Palin’s numbers continue to climb in the polls, regardless of the fact that unregistered voters are used to bump numbers up for some candidate (considering USA today may also be biased – which candidate received the benefit of 63 additional votes?) , The Times show their true colors through antiquated sexist attacks on Palin, and even local newspapers reports are on the verge of incredulous reporting (Berkshire Eagle) viewers flee and subscriptions are lost – will they never learn? (The list could fill pages, from local ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates to the smallest daily newspaper.)

The elite media stopped reporting long ago and began to “guide” and “pontificate” so that the masses (us) would be swayed to their point of view. Talk radio has taken a bit of wind out of their sails, as well as the blogs, but that said, instead of blaming the Internet for their woes, or like MSNBC, throwing two anchors under the bus hoping that will suffice, it would behoove those who claim to be news sources to consider taking the op-ed out of reporting. The facts may not favor one candidate more than the other – but the results may improve readership and viewership overall. If one is losing half of its market due to bias, even if it is perceived bias (which would be a stretch), then it makes for a sound business decision.