Drudge Fudges W. Virginia Exit Poll to the Extreme

Drudge has this headline:

SHOCK: 2/3 OF WHITES CITING RACE WON'T VOTE OBAMA IN GENERAL..

then you go to the article:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/...

Drudge's promo sounds like 2/3 of white people won't vote for nominee Obama because of race. what does the article actually say?      

...Racially motivated voting appeared to be running higher than usual: Two in 10 whites said the race of the candidate was a factor in their vote, second only to Mississippi. And only a third of those voters said they'd support Obama as the nominee against John McCain, fewer than in other primaries where the question has been asked...

More after the jump

So, in actuality the exit poll shows 20% of whites saying "race is a factor" and only 2/3 of those voters who cite race as a factor said they won't vote for Obama. Only 13% of white voters in the exit poll say they won't vote for Obama because of race. Drudge would have you believe that 66% of white W. Va. voters won't vote for Obama.

SHOCK: DRUDGE headline misleading to the extreme.

•  BREAKING: DRUDGE IS A HACK

  by NMLib on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:29:42 PM PDT

  •  BREAKING

    Drudge is broken.

    by mayan on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:31:36 PM PDT

    •  Breaking

      Significant percentage of West Virginians are racist.

      by pbonefullgrown on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:37:28 PM PDT

  •  To be specific, a race-baiting hack

    It really takes a fairly low example of humanity to fudge data to imply that voters are racist, doesn't it?  What is Drudge aspiring to?  To become the George Wallace of our era?  

    Boy, that will play well in Hollywood, won't it?  Eeeeuwww, what's that smell?

    by arthura on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:59:18 PM PDT

•  what he says "citing race"

  I don't get the big deal.  You think the headline makes it seem like it's all whites?  I don't think so.

  by duha on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:31:43 PM PDT

  •  Absolutely

    what he was conveying was

    1. 25% of Clinton voters were voting based on race

    AND

    2. 2/3s of them wouldn't vote for Obama.

    That was perfectly clear to me.

    Lots to complain about with Drudge, but in this case, you owe him an apology.

    by seanflynn on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:47:58 PM PDT

  •  It's ambiguous between two interpretations

    "2/3 OF WHITES, CITING RACE, WON'T VOTE OBAMA IN GENERAL"

    versus

    "2/3 OF WHITES THAT CITE RACE WON'T VOTE OBAMA IN GENERAL"

    A responsible journalist would written a headline that made clear that the article was intended to convey the second meaning.  I had initially read it the first way.

    by Seneca Doane on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:55:46 PM PDT

•  Thanks....

  This is quite a deceptive nasty piece of work and I am glad you clarified it.  I should point out there are Obama supporters even in Man WV- one of the poorest places in the state.  And although people may be nervous about change- so what?  We should vote for the person we think will lead us best.  For me that is Obama- but if Hillary were nominated I would also vote for her.  No one exit polled me though.

  by murrayewv on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:32:24 PM PDT

  •  Drudge loves Obama.

    Drudge is all about hits. Think about Obama's internet demographics. Then think about what attacking Hillary does for Drudge's hits. He gets Obama's supporters and Republicans who hate Hillary (all of them).

    At any rate - I also hear that Drudge hates McCain. Believe it or not - the guy could be an ALLY in teh fall. He actually has mostly ignored Rev. Wright.

    by Mark Warner is God on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:35:39 PM PDT

    •  He deleted it. He loves Obama

      by Engine 08 on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:27:13 PM PDT

•  Chill

  Drudge loves Obama.

  He's trying to discredit the results.

  by Mark Warner is God on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:34:04 PM PDT

  •  huh?

    His headline reads that 66% of whites wouldn't vote for Obama. if one doesn't follow the link to the article, one is mislead.

    not sure how that discredits the results.

    by BrooklynBoy on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:37:57 PM PDT

    •  It discredits them...

      By making it look like Hillary relied on the racist vote. That's the meme that the Clinton people DON'T want.

      by Mark Warner is God on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:48:12 PM PDT

  •  ie, dishonesty is OK if in the service of BHO.

    That's some kind of new-fangled ethics I don't really get.

    by burrow owl on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:46:52 PM PDT

    •  Have You Not Been Paying Attention??

      For some, anything is OK if in the service of BHO.

      Like saying, or implying, that any white voter who fails to vote for him at every opportunity must be racist, since there's no other possible reason to not be enthralled by his magnificence.

      by The Baculum King on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:50:52 PM PDT

•  Fuck

  Drudge

  by sgilman on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:37:07 PM PDT

  •  Duck

    Frudge

    by pbonefullgrown on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:38:08 PM PDT

•  only a matter of time

  before msnbc,cnn and others pick up the Drudge report and soon its accepted news.
   Lets face it, the Fourth Estate is as much to blame for out problems as anyone else.  It has totally failed us starting with the lack of investigative reporting on Bush the canditate, to the Iraq war.  I assume Chris "The Insanely Bloated Ego, Did I Mention I Am Irish Catholic" Matthews is probably reporting Hillary's "Comeback Kid" moment as we speak.

  by the left is right on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:39:31 PM PDT

•  I was confused by that headline.

  20% is still really high though, considering how many people were probably too ashamed to answer the question honestly.

  by nicweb on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:42:02 PM PDT

•  fair coverage towards Obama

  Drudge >>>>>>>>>> Halparin >>>>>>>> Ben Smith

  I've gained a lot of respect for Drudge this primary season.

  Probably in the same way that Hillary supporters have gained respect for Faux News....but still.

  by dehydratedcracker on Tue May 13, 2008 at 04:48:41 PM PDT

  •  I sent him an email and he removed it. Read Email

    Drudge:
    I congratulate you for having been very fair to Barack in this election. However, I think your "SHOCK: 2/3 OF WHITES CITING RACE WON'T VOTE OBAMA IN GENERAL" is misleading because the article you cited stated that 2/3 of 20% (13% of white voters in the exit poll) won't vote for Obama in the General election.

    Would you please correct the impression on your website that states that 66% of the Whites according to the exit poll won't vote for Obama in the General Election
    Regards

    by Engine 08 on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:26:10 PM PDT

    •  that was very nice of him

      by slinkerwink on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:35:35 PM PDT

    •  wow.

      by BrooklynBoy on Tue May 13, 2008 at 05:41:46 PM PDT