Poll: McCain was Right on Media

Remember this ad from the McCain campaign?



Many in the media and the blogosphere dimissed the video as a desperate attempt to grab attention from Obama's world tour overseas trip.

From the Chicago-Tribune:

Whining is not a reassuring habit in a political candidate. One thing all presidents and presidential candidates have in common is that sometimes the press coverage won't go their way. Stoic indifference is the best way to respond. If McCain gets in a snit over what The Washington Post does, how will he react when he has to deal with truly aggravating adversaries, like Kim Jong Il? 

From the NY Post:

While Obama hobnobbed with world leaders, the McCain campaign settled on a relentless whine about media bias, interspersed with flailing attacks.

Is Team McCain even playing the same game?

But as it turns out, the voters agree with Senator McCain.  Last Monday, while the three network news anchors were following Senator Obama around the Middle East like lost puppies, Rasmussen released a poll which found that 49% of voters believe that the media is trying to help Obama get elected, up from 44% one month ago. This 49% includes 27% of Democrats and 78% of Republican. Only 14% of voters believe the media is trying to help McCain (14% of Republicans and 21% of Democrats) and 23% perceive no bias at all. Among unafiliated voters, 50% believe the media is helping Obama, 21% perceive no bias, and 13% believe the media is helping McCain.

Perhaps it is sacrilegious to criticize the media for a bias that seems to clearly favor Democrats this cycle and I suppose that many reading this post will think this is more sour grapes from a bitter Clintonista. To the former, I say that the media bias swings both way. Have you forgotten the softball coverage the Bush administration received in the run-up to the war? To the latter, I say that dissent is healthy, even essential, in a democracy.