The Final Death Knell of "The Liberal Media"
The Liberal Media. Oh, how the conservative media loves to trot out that old chestnut. I've heard Joe Scarborough using this Rush Limbaugh line as recently as last week to talk about how the Liberal Media finds it appalling that McCain is inciting people to kill Barack Obama when it really isn't that bad. Well, that myth can be put to bed, forever. From Chris Bowers over at Open Left:
The Washington Post maintains a webpage titled "Political Landscape 2008." This webpage has been updated recently enough to reflect Obama's 13.8% polling lead in Pennsylvania, a trend that uses polls released as recently as Wednesday. On this webpage, the Washington Post collects recent polling data, and then declares a state to either be a "battleground," or leaning toward one party or the other. Here are some of their polling averages and diagnoses:
Obama +13.8%: Battleground state (PA)
Obama +10.4%: Battleground state (NH)
Obama +10.0%: Battleground state (NJ)
Obama +9.5%: Battleground state (IA)
Obama +9.0%: Battleground state (OR)
Obama +8.2%: Battleground state (MN)
Obama +8.2%: Battleground state (MI)
Obama +8.8%: Battleground state (WI)
Obama +7.3%: Battleground state (NM)
McCain +6.8%: Leaning Republican (GA)
Obama +5.1%: Battleground state (VA)
Obama +4.0%: Battleground state (CO)
McCain +3.8%: Leaning Republican (IN)
Obama +3.5%: Battleground state (OH)
Obama +3.1%: Battleground state (FL)
Obama +3.0%: Battleground state (NV)
McCain +2.2%: Leaning Republican (WV)
Notice anything odd? McCain is leading by +2.2 in West Virginia and that is a "Leaning Republican" state. Obama is up by +13.8 in Pennsylvania and that is a "BATTLEGROUND STATE". Why? Well, there are two possible reasons. One, the media wants this to continue to LOOK like a horse race when it isn't. Or, two, the media doesn't want to tell you the truth because it would show:
the latest electoral projections from independent, small media electoral forecasting websites:
Election Projection: Obama 364-174
Electoral-Vote.com: Obama 349, McCain 174, 15 tied
Fivethirtyeight: Obama 347.6-190.4 McCain
Pollster.com: Obama 320, McCain 158, Toss-up 60
Real Clear Politics: Obama 277, McCain 158, Toss-up 103There are many more, but I'll stop there. The key point is that all small media election projection websites, including the Republican Election Projection and Real Clear Politics, have Obama over 270 electoral votes. This is because polls now objectively show that Obama is well over 270 electoral votes. However, none of the big, and so-called liberal, media websites show Obama over 270 right now. Every single one is even more favorable to McCain than Real Clear Politics:
MSNBC: Obama 264-174 McCain
CNN: Obama 264-174 McCain
New York Times: Obama 260--200 McCain
I've said this for years, there are a lot of sheeple out there that simply go with the herd. In Bush years, that meant they went with Bush. But, if MSNBC and CNN and WaPO and NYT came out and said that the current electoral count prediction is Obama 320/McCain 158, with 270 needed to win. Then, we might end up with Obama 400, along with which would come 60 Senate seats and probably another 20 House seats. Realignment.
So, either their ratings are more important to them than the truth, or they want to keep up the appearance of a horse race so that Democrats don't sweep to an era-defining election. Don't forget, Republicans might have swept us in 1994, but Bill Clinton still won in 1996. If Obama wins 400 electoral votes and we sweep the House and Senate, then the media has to face a new day, as do their billionaire owners.
Ding-dong, the liberal media meme is dead, long-live the Republican Owned media.
- Robert P.'s blog
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Obama 400.
That's my gut feeling on why they are obfuscating. Because Obama 400 ends a way of life, the Republican, free-market, way of life. Instead, we go back to a bit of sanity where workers make real wages and CEOs don't parachute out with $100Million payoffs for failing.
"You could say, 'Look, is this guy, Laden, really the bad guy that's depicted?' Most of us have never heard of him before." John McCain, following Clinton's strikes on al Qaeda camps
353-185
this is my prediction 353-185
“We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe.” ~ Barack Obama
The National Popular Vote bill
The real issue is not how well Obama or McCain might do state-by-state, but that we shouldn't have battleground states and spectator states in the first place. Every vote in every state should be politically relevant in a presidential election. And, every vote should be equal. We should have a national popular vote for President in which the White House goes to the candidate who gets the most popular votes in all 50 states.
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC). The bill would take effect only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a majority of the electoral vote -- that is, enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538). When the bill comes into effect, all the electoral votes from those states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
Because of state-by-state enacted rules for winner-take-all awarding of their electoral votes, recent candidates with limited funds have concentrated their attention on a handful of closely divided "battleground" states. In 2004 two-thirds of the visits and money were focused in just six states; 88% on 9 states, and 99% of the money went to just 16 states. Two-thirds of the states and people have been merely spectators to the presidential election.
Another shortcoming of the current system is that a candidate can win the Presidency without winning the most popular votes nationwide.
The National Popular Vote bill has passed 21 state legislative chambers, including one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, and both houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The bill has been enacted by Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland. These four states possess 50 electoral votes-- 19% of the 270 necessary to bring the law into effect.
See http://www.NationalPopularVote.com
susan