The latest CBS News/New York Times poll not only shows Mitt Romney ahead of Barack Obama by three points, but also that Romney is leading among women voters. That was such an embarrassing result that CBS This Morning totally skipped it on Tuesday. By contrast, on ABC's Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos and Jake Tapper openly discussed how it's a "stunning poll" and "bad news for Obama." Team Obama complained the poll was biased. Well, there was certainly bias in CBS omitting their own poll results.
On Monday's CBS Evening News, Scott Pelley briefly mentioned the head-to-head result, but skipped the Romney lead among the female half of the country:
SCOTT PELLEY: The economy is the top issue in the presidential race, and tonight, a CBS News/New York Times poll finds that the race is very tight. Six months before the election, Mitt Romney leads President Obama among registered voters 46 percent to 43. But that three-point difference is within the poll's margin of error.
[CBS News Graphic: "CBS News/New York Times Poll; Registered Voters: Romney, 46%; Obama 43%; Margin Of Error: 4 Pts."]
Americans are a little bit more optimistic, it seems. Two out of three voters, 67 percent, told us they believe the economy is bad. But have a look at this: back in September, only 12 percent said the economy was improving. Now, three times as many, 36 percent, say it's getting better.
[CBS News Graphic: "CBS News/New York Times Poll; The Economy; May 11-13: Bad, 67%: Getting Better: Sept. 2011, 12%; Now, 36%; Margin Of Error: 4 pts."]
Here's how they talked polling at ABC:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Now, to the presidential race, "Your Voice, Your Vote." And new polls with some encouraging news for Mitt Romney. He's polled slightly ahead of President Obama in the latest New York Times poll, 46 to 43. And USA Today shows that half the country now thinks well of him. Those are his best numbers yet. All this comes as President Obama spent the day in New York, shoring up his support with women. Giving the graduation speech at Barnard College. And sitting down on the couch to talk about everything from same-sex marriage to his 50th birthday, with the ladies of The View. [Some favorable clips from “The View” followed.]
....Let's bring in Jake Tapper for more on this. We're not going to talk about Malia and Sasha. It does show – this new poll in the New York Times does show that the President actually has some work to do with women. Mitt Pomney polling ahead with women in the first time.
JAKE TAPPER, ABC News White House correspondent: It's a stunning poll, George. In addition to Mitt Romney aving a narrow lead in this poll, he has a lead among women voters. That's a group that President Obama needs to win in order to be re-elected. It's a group that he won by 13 points over Senator John McCain in 2008. And he needs to, if not at least reach 13 points, at least come close to that in order to be
re-elected. But this poll shows some real problems in that area.
Now, the Obama campaign says they challenged the methodology of this poll. But what the Romney campaign says is what they've said all along, women like men, are focused on the economy. And 67 percent of those polled, in this New York Times poll, say that the economy is in bad shape. And that is bad news for President Obama.
-- Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center. Click here [1] to follow him on Twitter.