Is the Media Rigging the Polls?

On the surface, it sounds like sour grapes when the Republicans complain about the most recent polls being rigged. Since the Democrat convention most polls show President  Obama moving ahead, especially in the battleground states. Given the history of our mainstream media and their obvious desire to see Obama re-elected, there is a question in my mind for many reasons.

I will be the first to concede that Mitt Romney is not the most exciting candidate in the world. The fact remains, however, that he is running against a failed presidency in a terrible economy. Not only is our economy still in the dumps, but Obama's foreign policy has collapsed before our very eyes. No sense, however, in making this an essay on why Romney should be elected. Let's consider some other factors.

First of all, the enthusiasm that propelled Obama to the presidency as our first black president has clearly waned. If you look at Red states vs Blue states, it is hard to see Obama capturing any states that he lost in 2008. It is reasonable to assume, however, that he may lose a few Blue states, like Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. Even liberal Wisconsin is in play.

Two years ago, the electorate delivered a stinging rebuke to the Democrats as they turned the House of Representatives back to the Republicans. In addition, the Republicans have an outside shot this time at winning the Senate.

We also hear that many of the pollsters are using 2008 templates in 2012; further, that they are over-sampling Democrats and adjusting numbers for African-American and Hispanic voters.

But why would they do this when the only poll that matters is on Election Day? Perhaps, for the same reason they called the race in Florida for Al Gore in 2000-before the Panhandle polls closed, which turned away many voters still waiting to vote in that part of the state that clearly favored George W Bush. (I clearly recall the media projecting Gore the winner in Florida even though the counted tallies showed Bush leading.) Perhaps for the same reason that their exit polls in 2004 favoring John Kerry were wrong. To suppress Republican turnout.

To be blunt, anything political that is reported by the MSM has to be taken with a grain of salt. They are not objective. They have an agenda which favors the Democrats. It has caused them to slant their reporting and to be dishonest with their readers. It is a real tragedy for our country, which prides itself on a free press. It should concern all Americans no matter their party affiliation.

The main thing, however, is not to let these polls influence you to stay home in November. The stakes are too high.