NBC and its hard left cable network don't seem to be on the same page.
The morning
[1] after MSNBC bomb-thrower Ed Schultz condemned Republican
voters for thinking President Obama is Muslim, on Tuesday's Today, NBC's
political director Chuck Todd discounted the Public Policy Polling survey [2]: "I think this question was designed to get a higher percentage in the answer than maybe what's actually true."
Todd explained the problem with the automated poll: "...the way the
question was asked, I think it just was designed to get a higher number.
Because there are some Republicans who...may not believe he's a Muslim,
but like saying it because it's a way to attack him. It's sort of a way
to needle him....it's certainly created a buzz among liberals who are trying to create a stereotype among base conservative voters."
On Monday's The Ed Show [1],
Schultz went so far as to rant that Sarah Palin was responsible for
Republicans thinking Obama is Muslim: "The root of this problem is at
the doorstep of the McCain campaign from 2008. You don’t have to look
any farther than the recent HBO movie 'Game Change' which premiered over
the weekend to see how this whole fire started to rage."
Maybe next time Schultz should give Todd a call before running with liberal propaganda disguised as polling.
Here is a transcript of Todd on the March 13 broadcast of Today:
7:09AM
(...)
MATT LAUER: And Chuck, real quickly, this story that a lot of people
are talking about, this Public Policy Polling, these surveys done in
Alabama and Mississippi that seem to indicate in Alabama 45% of people
think Barack Obama is Muslim, 52% in Mississippi. You're not so sure on
these numbers. You don't like this survey.
CHUCK
TODD: Well, there's a couple of things. One, it's an automatic – it's a
robo-survey, so you get an auto phone call and you press a button to
answer the question, one if he's a Christian, two if he's a Muslim. But
you introduce it – the way the question was asked, I think it just was
designed to get a higher number. Because there are some Republicans who
may not believe the President – who may believe the President is a – may
not believe he's a Muslim, but like saying it because it's a way to
attack him. It's sort of a way to needle him.
So, I think this question was designed to get a higher percentage in
the answer than maybe what's actually true. And it's certainly created a
buzz among liberals who are trying to create a stereotype among base
conservative voters.
LAUER: Alright, Chuck Todd in Washington this morning. Chuck, thanks very much, as always.
TODD: You got it.
-- Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. Click here [3] to follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter.