A conservative and a liberal were reading the Baltimore Sun this morning (yes people still do that) and observed an article about a new poll done by the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg. The article, entitled “Poll Shows Opposition to Troop Rise in Iraq, states in a rather dramatic (and misleading) way that, “A commanding majority of Americans oppose President Bush’s decision to send more troops to Iraq and just over half the country wants Congress to block the move, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found.” The liberal’s reaction? “Ha! I knew it! The American people have spoken; the American people want a change of strategy, namely pulling out in a “phased withdrawal” because we have already lost!” The conservative’s reaction? “Let’s read a little more before passing judgment.” So in a fine show of bipartisanship, they agree on this course of action and read into the second paragraph, where the article shows Bush’s waning support among the American people where, “…more than three-fifths of those surveyed (key phrase) said the war was not worth fighting…” Now the conservative is somewhat worried and the liberal is crowing his victory to the sky.
A few paragraphs later there seems to be another nail in the coffin of the war effort as the article states that, “…about one-fourth of Republicans (where is “of those surveyed”?)…do not believe the war…worth fighting…roughly equal number opposed the troop increase.” Now the conservative is really concerned, but he still holds out hope. He thinks that there just has to be a catch buried somewhere in the article! Right? And he is not disappointed. In the ninth of fourteen paragraphs, the article states that the Times/Bloomberg Poll, “…surveyed 1,344 adults nationwide by telephone Saturday through Tuesday. It has a margin of sampling error of three percentage points.” Now how can anyone derive the will of a country with 300 million in it with just a survey of 1344 adults?! Insanity, arrogance and more MSM manipulation are the answers to that question. And of course buried in the very last paragraph is the little fact that, “Forty-one percent said Congress should not attempt to stop Bush, with the rest unsure.” That figure is compared to the fifty-one percent oppose Bush’s plan. But the common folk knowing that wouldn’t fit the media elites plans, just their M.O. When they find something that doesn’t fit their agenda, they bury it. They still publish it so they can that they’re fair, but that is just CYA. Crazy stuff.
Mike Grant — Samnite Gladiator
