There is no clearer example of how the right wing agenda leads the traditional national media around by the nose than in the presidential polling of 2008.
Specifically, Bob Barr.
Barr is a former republican planning to launch a major third party candidacy in 2008. Given John McCain has a tenuous relationship with many conservatives, there is a good chance Bob Barr will pull between 2-3% of the national vote. Most of it, from McCain.
Our corrupt national media, however, is completely ignoring Bob Barr.
He is absent from the network reporting of polls. He is absent from national discussions. He is absent from visual graphics.
Why is this important?
Because the greatest trick our national media pulls on the American people is creating the illusion that what they report, and how they report it -- has no influence on the stories they're reporting.
Take this June 4th, 2008 poll story from CBS News:
http://www.cbsnews.com/...
CBS Poll: Obama Leads McCain
Obama Ahead By Six Points, But Threat Looms Of Many Clinton Voters Planning To Back McCain
June 4, 2008
(CBS) Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama holds a six point lead over his Republican counterpart John McCain, a new CBS News poll finds. Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 42 percent among registered voters, with 6 percent of respondents undecided.
The poll contains troubling signs for Obama as he looks to mobilize the Democratic Party behind him following his long and sometimes bitter battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, however.
Twelve percent of Democrats say they will support McCain in the general election. That's higher than the 8 percent of Democrats who defected to President Bush in 2004. Nearly a quarter of Clinton supporters say they will back McCain instead of Obama in the general election.
McCain leads Obama by 8 points among registered independent voters, considered a key voting block in November. The Arizona senator leads Obama 46 percent to 38 percent, with 11 percent of respondents undecided.
Catch anything? Bob Barr's name DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE POLL OR THE ARTICLE.
How about the WSJ/Quinnipac poll?
http://blogs.wsj.com/...
July 15, 2008, 11:24 am
Latest Quinnipiac Poll Gives Obama Solid Lead
Susan Davis reports on the presidential race.
pollThe latest Quinnipiac University Poll gives Barack Obama a national 50%-41% lead over rival John McCain, bolstered by strong support among blacks, women, and young voters. McCain has a slight lead among men as well as white voters. The candidates split the spoils among independents and seniors.
Maurice Carroll, director of the polling institute, said Obama’s lead is "solid—but not monolithic."
Obama has near unanimous support among blacks, 94%-1%, and a nearly 20 point lead, 55%-36%, among women. His lead among young voters 18 to 34 years old is even greater at 63%-31%.
However, in older voting blocs, Obama’s support narrows to 48%-44% among 35 to 54 year olds, and is neck and neck with McCain among voters 55 years old and older with McCain leading 45%-44%.
McCain’s lead among men is narrow, 47%-44%, but larger among whites overall at 49%-42%. Further, Obama trails closely behind McCain in so-called Red States—ones that voted for George W. Bush by more than five percentage points in 2004—with 44% to McCain’s 47%. In swing states, Obama leads 50%-39%.
Nope. No Bob Barr there, either.
How about the venerable ABC News? When not busy greenlighting Clinton smearing propaganda like "The Path to War" or refusing to release and attempting to bury a future 100 million dollar profit making documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" here's ABC news on the latest presidential polling involving Bob Barr:
...
http://abcnews.go.com/...
Couldn't find one mention.
To maintain the fictional construction of "news," they refuse to acknowledge, investigate or report on how media bias and agenda influence the stories, not just cover them.
This is why so few media outlets have ever done investigations of the agendas of Clear Channel, Rupert Murdoch or Richard Mellon Scaife on driving many of the dominating news stories of the past twenty years.
As any 5th grader running for class president can tell you, the more their name gets mentioned, the more interest they'll get from their fellow students.
The same goes for Bob Barr. And the same certainly went for Ralph Nader.
As those of us who lived through the odious 2000 campaign remember, the national media was completely and corruptly bullied by screaming right wing voices into reporting on the most inane and issue free subjects:
Al Gore is a congenital liar!
Al Gore hasn't distanced himself from Clinton enough!
Al Gore is wooden!
George Bush is folksy and people want to have a beer with him!
Ralph Nader is the real alternative from the Bush/Gore sameness!
This nonsense drove Al Gore to do some very stupid things (pick Clinton critic and sanctimonious self-righteous asswipe Joe Lieberman as his running mate, give Tipper a huge, incredibly awkward kiss at the convention, etc.)
But it also drove Ralph Nader into the national spotlight, generating enough publicity for him to actually effect the election.
Same thing in 2004.
In that year, Ralph Nader wasn't even in the Green Party anymore, nor was he on the ballot in all 50 states. He consistently polled at 1%. Yet the media ALWAYS included Ralph Nader in their polling.
Networks like ABC, CBS and NBC would consistently show Kerry/Gore/Nader graphics, reinforcing Ralph Nader as a viable presidential candidate.
They did this because they were afraid not to. They were afraid the right wing hate machine would scream "LIBBBBRRRRRULLLLL!!!!!" at them and accuse them of ignoring a candidate who would hurt John Kerry.
All this despite no national support for Nader in 2004. He ended up being a non-factor.
Now 2008.
First we had the anti-war republican Ron Paul, polling well but consistently ignored in any primary discussions.
Now we have the viable republican alternative Bob Barr consistently ignored by CBS, NBC and ABC, as well as the corrupt clowns at Fox, CNN and most of MSNBC.
Going foward, we should chart how frequently (or infrequently) Bob Barr comes up in polling.
The July 11th Zogby has Bob Barr receiving the following:
9% in New Mexico
8% in Colorado
6% in Florida
5% in Virginia
4% in North Carolina
Bob Barr is a major factor in the 2008 race, far more relevant statistically than Ralph Nader in 2000 or 2004.
Yet our corrupt assclowns in the National Media continue to ignore Barr, creating a McCain/Obama vacuum, with the occasional mention of Ralph Nader thrown in.
This is why our national media fails us.
Because they are so terrified of the Limbaugh/Hannity hatefests that they will create "inclusive" polls, stories, statistics and reports in the interest of "objectivity" when it hurts the democrats, and ignore the very same when it hurts a republican candidate like McCain.
Lets all track the absence of Bob Barr on our national networks going forward into November. The lack of alarmist stories about how Barr might cost McCain, the way we heard about Nader and Gore in 2000, and Nader and Kerry in 2004.
As usual, we'll see a compliant media of sober, serious performers -- actors in suits and ties, actresses in mature pantsuits and dresses -- being led by the nose by the Murdoch/Gingrich smear machines.
Bob Barr will disappear from the national discussion just as Ralph Nader was injected into it.
And it is f-ing ridiculous.