Washington Post hack job on Kerry is full of errors says ABC's The Note

[DJcairo]

In addition to the errors cited by The Note, I would add that the story feels like old news. It talks mainly about the two-speeches and the early September debate comment. This hardly seems to reflect the reality of the campaign as it is being run now. Kerry is on message and has an extremely strong organization. Any article this negative should at least have mentioned that the race has tightened in NH and Iowa for Kerry. Zogby showed a Kerry gain of 3 points in NH and a Dean loss of 8 pojnts as recently as two weeks ago. Kerry was 21 points behind in Zogby and is now only behind by 10.here they are:

1. Some people, at least, deployed the phrase "The Shrum Primary" with a hint of irony.

2. The DSCC does more than raise money (although we can see how you got that impression).

3. The proper response when a campaign official tells you his or her candidate has gotten "tighter" on the stump is to laugh — not to put it in the paper.

4. For true insiders, the punch line to the Noah's Ark joke is "and ONE spouse."

5. To the knowledge of us, your polling partners, there is no such thing as a "CNN-ABC News poll."

6. John Kerry has no legislative record.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/TheNote/TheNote.html

Here is the WA Post story this is in reference to:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A658-2003Oct8.html

In addition to the errors cited by The Note, I would add that the story feels like old news. It talks mainly about the two-speeches and the early September debate comment. This hardly seems to reflect the reality of the campaign as it is being run now. Kerry is on message and has an extremely strong organization. Any article this negative should at least have mentioned that the race has tightened in NH and Iowa for Kerry. Zogby showed a Kerry gain of 3 points in NH and a Dean loss of 8 points as recently as two weeks ago. Kerry was 21 points behind in Zogby and is now only behind by 10. Internal Edwards' polling has put Kerry behind Dean by only 1 point in Iowa.

Look for the national coverage of Kerry to get better as Kerry stuns the establishment by surging ahead in Iowa. This will make Kerry the edfacto frontrunner since a Kerry win in Iowa means the primary race is effectively over.

[DJcairo]

1. kick

[blm]

2. Kerry rarely gets national press attention

no matter what exciting campaign event occurs. The Fire Fighters endorsement received ZERO national media and the Gary Hart endorsement should have been HUGE, too, considering the role both Hart and the fire fighters had pre and post 9-11.

The few major stories Kerry does get are the negative ones dooming him.

The corporate media is controlling the perception of the Dem primary and every candidate (other than those pushed by the media) is on their own.

[JohnKleeb]

3. You think you got it bad heh

Youre right though I didnt hear much about Hart or firefighters though but seriously heh if you guys think you got it bad. Its ok, we're used to it but it probably bugs. We got Gene McCarthy so you know. Congrads on Hart and the Firefighters. Youre right about the media.

[Pez]

4. i think they see it as...

...finally a chance to sit around and surf the internet all day. wouldn't it be great for the media if the race was actually decided ON the internet, so they didn't have to go around and like, talk to all those americans? saves a lot of time, a lot of money... and they can play minesweeper the whole time! woohoo!

seriously, the media are a bunch of lazy asses. journalistic integrity has gone the way of betamax.

[JohnKleeb]

6. Media annoys the hell of me

You should have seen how one day I was pleased to see Kucinich mentioned twice, not in articles directly about him though. Christ if theres one thing other than the no chance rhetoric on DK etc its the way the media has been ignoring Kucinich. Oh well, I just wish people would see that there is a man out there with a great vision.

[Pez]

10. it's ridiculous

i don't see why they can't manage to cover the candidates more evenly... every time clark plucks an eyebrow it's all over the news, while other people don't get mentioned at all. and people really do believe what they see repeated on tv-- witness dubya's election, the gr0pe, hussein = 09.11... odd.

[JohnKleeb]

11. I know

Its a big frustration of mine. Lemme tell you about that day when I was blessed to read about Kucinich in two articles, the first was about Harkin's steak fry and this professor and :eyes: he said they had been discussing Kucinich in their class but hes too short (btw folks Dennis is only an inch shorter than Dean and of course a lot smaller than Kerry who is as big as Lincoln was 6'4) and his ethnic name(didnt they say this about Irish Catholics and also I like this about DK, you see Dennis is a fellow South Slav like myself, hes Croatian and I am Slovenian, of course we are also Irish and I have some other things), and nm the other article was on a different day. Its astounding. Sucks doesn't it when your candiate fights for the values that make us democrats but hes seldom mentioned.

[helleborient]

8. The campaign announcement and Hart endorsement both...

Garnered national press. Kerry and his supporters have to catch the media attention...just like Jimmy Carter in Iowa in 1976, just like Bill Clinton in 1992 and like Howard Dean today.

Howard Dean does not have money to buy the media...and they are following what they perceive as exciting...what the public perceives as exciting.

If the voters are not excited by Kerry, the media won't be either...get people to Meetups around the country, get ads on in multiple states, and get to Kerry to places around the country...the media will follow.

At some point supporters have to look internally at what is going wrong instead of continually blaming every setback on everyone else, or on the media..or you will lose.

[LuminousX]

9. It's all about putting together a compelling narrative

What is unique about Kerry that makes a story about him sell newspapers? Dean offers a compelling narative that love or hate him, you want to know what else he is going to do.

Kerry and Gephardt are too bland for the media. They are too typical. They only get press when they get fiery, and they only get fiery when attacking Dean, which means they give Dean yet more press.

[Pez]

12. bush's narrative > all

[blm]

14. There were NO segments on the national news networks

about either event. I am quite certain they would have been noted and discussed here in great detail.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Just be glad that Lehane is in the rearview mirror.

Now, renew your focus. 3 months to Iowa. Time to get to work.

[helleborient]

7. You might also notice Kerry gained NOTHING...

In New Hampshire over the last month according to the just released ARG poll...still 10 points behind.

[DrFunkenstein]

17. No, He Remained Steady After Clark Entered

There is a big difference. Just ask the Dean campaign.

[Nicholas_J]

13. Even the Recent American Research Poll has Dean dropping again.

But more interesting is his favorability rating:

Of the 29% of likely Democratic primary voters undecided in their preference for president, 44% have a favorable opinion of Dean, and 45% have a favorable opinion of Kerry.

Of the 29% of likely Democratic primary voters saying they would vote for Dean, 51% have a favorable opinion of Kerry.

Of the 19% of likely Democratic primary voters saying they would vote for Kerry, 27% have a favorable opinion of Dean and 40% have an unfavorable opinion of Dean. This is the first time that those saying they would vote for Kerry are more apt to have an unfavorable opinion of Dean.

http://americanresearchgroup.com/nhpoll/dem/


Dean had an even larger drop in the most recent Zogby Polls.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. You're crazy!

Why go sifting through favorable/unfavorable portions of a poll when the support numbers are right in front of you?!

Dean now= 29%.
Kerry now= 19%.

Dean 3 months ago= 19%.
Kerry 3 months ago= 25%.



How can you possibly spin Kerry losing 6 points of support and Dean gaining 10 points of support into a positive result?

:eyes:

[DrFunkenstein]

18. You're Missing The Larger Picture (Conveniently)

I notice you decide to jump 3 months back rather than admit Dean's late summer bump has steadily been eroded.

Secondly, the favorability numbers are important because it shows that people are reacting to Dean's tactics poorly. The supporters of the other candidates that Dean has repeatedly attacked are finally getting sick of his "Democratic wing" schtick.

As Dean's people get more and more zealous, the others are getting more and more turned off. I am a perfect example. I truly put Dean as my second choice, but over the last few weeks I have gotten tired of him and his band of merrymen. Now, I would really have to hold my nose to vote for him in November.

I know the Kerry people are not alone in this. People are tired of Dean calling their candidates spineless Washington insiders. And I don't think I'm alone when I find Dean's thin-skin hypocritical in the extreme. Everytime one of his supporters whines about the negativity, it just makes me like them less.

The shame is that Dean's platform is not that bad. Not inspiring, but certainly solid. But his personality and the Gestapo nature of his supporters have completely ruined it for me.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

20. Huh?

Poll progression, from July to October:


Dean=....19,28,31,29

Kerry=....25,21,21,19





If anyone is being convenient....I'd suggest....(nudge, nudge)....that is is you. +10 versus -6. 10 point lead versus 10 point defecit. Where's the convenience?




edit- Did'ja notice that one set of numbers was trending up and the other was trending down? If you don't think it's important, I'll defer to your opinion.

[dsc]

16. as usual

you ignore MOE when it is inconvenient for your case. Taking MOE into account, as an intellectually honest Kerry supporter did on the main thread about this poll, shows neither Dean nor Kerry saw any change in their support from last month to this month.

[DrFunkenstein]

19. Again, You're Ignoring Clark's Entry

Kerry's support remained steady as Clark ate up a huge chunk of the pie.

Remember when everyone thought the second vet in the race would eat up his support? Didn't happen. Kerry's going strong.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

22. This makes a lot of sense

Dean supporters feel Kerry is no threat so they are more charitable in that view point than Kerry supporters, who are getting just a little annoyed.
Fortunately, NH will turn the tables 180 come Jan 28. :evilgrin:

[DrFunkenstein]

21. Remember The Headlines When Kerry Called For Rumsfeld's Resignation?

Of course not. There weren't any until Dean copied him.

Think about it: a US Senator calls for the resignation of the Secretary of Defense. Don't you think that's newsworthy?

Throughout Kerry's stint as early front-runner, there was never a mention of a buzz or an examination of why he was in front. No magazine covers (of course). Every article talked about his "ambivalence" and "muddled" thinking. They painted him as the next Al Gore (not in a good way, either).

I find it amazing that Kerry's numbers are as good as they are. And I can't help but credit that to the quality of the candidate.

[blm]

23. Yup...that's just how I see it.

I don't see how anyone can deny Kerry is being blacked out by the national news networks.

[DrFunkenstein]

24. BTW blm

I really have to express my admiration for your fortitude here. You've really weathered an incessant attack from the Dean quarters, but you have stuck by Kerry for months now. You've been a rock solid promoter of Kerry since even before I got here, and I've never seen you waver once.

:yourock:

[blm]

26. Heh...

grew up in a VERY large family with a fundamentalist mother. You had to learn how to weather the inevitable beatings.

I appreciate your kind words.

[JohnKleeb]

31. You are good to Kucinich as well

As a result and my own thinking, Ive defended Kerry when Ive had to and made him my second choice :) all smiles, Edwards is behind him.

[blm]

36. Solid choices. I am a DK liberal

and proud of it.

[KittyWampus]

37. Chiming In- BLM Is One Reason I'd Be Happy To Vote KERRY

Kerry isn't to my personal taste or inclination but BLM has helped point out his solid Liberal record and his work exposing Junior's corruption.

As for Dean, I am sick of hearing about the Resolution. It is Ancient History. The troops are in Iraq. All the canidates have somewhat similar positions on what to do in Iraq and are calling Junior on it.

Dean needs to find another tool in his bag pretty darn quick.

[JI7]

29. i sure did

totally ignored kerry on that.

[cindyw]

25. Lazy Journalism

I commented on this WP article on another thead. Here are my comments re-posted.

The Washington post has yet to report on anything new for the campaign. This redundancy issue and lack of focus was resolved when Lehane left. Come on people try some real journalism. What's next we'll all hear about how Dean is the new front runner. Oh even better, how about a hard hitting investigation on how Bush is thinking of starting a war in Iraq.

The problem here lies in lazy journalism. The new Republic grades the candidates. Usually those grades come from things the candidate has done or said. For the most part they have ignored Kerry for the last month and the two times they did grade him were direct opinions from Slate (who does a series specifically to trash all the candidates) and now this old news Washington Post story. What the Kerry campaign needs to do is get a better PR department to communicate what's going on the campaign trail. I was shocked at the difference between the Kerry portrayed in journalism and the passionate, thoughful and strong man in person. Where do they ever report his words on poverty, his obvious passion for veterans or his strong ideas on fixing this economy and getting health care to everyone. They don't. There is some weird bias that makes them look for soap opera stories in his and Calrk's campaigns and for the most part issue oriented stories for Dean and Gephardt.

Heah reporters catch up or find a new job.

[George_Bonanza]

27. Kerry tries to convince Americans he is the centrist choice to Dean?

Kerry doesn't want to repeal ALL of Bush's tax cuts. Kerry's harder to understand on Iraq. Must mean he's a centrist to Dean's liberalism, right? Geez, I thought this type of typecasting by the media was over 6 months ago. The irony here is that even if Kerry is trying to pull off a centrist image, he's actually a formidable liberal inside, while Dean's the other way around. I'm not saying he's "duping" people, per se, but there are a lot of liberal people who are under the Dean spell. It's funny how they could get so excited about a relatively centrist like Dean. He has made it clear that he's no "weeping liberal".

[blm]

30. It is odd...but, I guess it will be good in the end.

Kerry speaks in elegant tones which makes people perceive his liberal views as moderate, whereas Dean speaks with hot rhetoric that makes him sound more extreme even though his actual record is one of centrism and compromise with the right.

[JohnKleeb]

32. Thats true because my grandma thought Dean was the more liberal of the two

She knows she was wrong now. I think Kerry is still her candiate.

[George_Bonanza]

33. You're right blm

Unfortunately, I think many people equate willingness to debate and listen to the other opinion as centrism, while hot rhetoric and snap decisions which adhere faithfully to ideologies are the better liberals. The latter is exactly what makes Bush appeal to so many. A lot of people equate snap decisions as leadership. A lot of people equate adherence to ideologies as leadership because it's too much work to take in both sides.

[blm]

35. wow...hard to believe you are so young.

That was a very wise observation.

[genius]

28. The special interest-owned news media wants Dean to win

because he's one of them and he has a history of bending to special intersts.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

34. You're 90% correct.

The part that you're wrong about is the "special interest-owned news media" and " he has a history of bending to special intersts" parts.


Other than that, you're right on the money.