Wash. Post ignored own polling data to suggest ... [Media Matters for America]

Wash. Post ignored own polling data to suggest ... [Media Matters for America]In its October 31 lead editorial, titled "The Osama Surprise," The Washington Post predicted that the recently released taped message from Osama bin Laden would "shift voters" toward President George W. Bush: "Maybe it [bin Laden videotape] was meant to shift voters away from the president on Tuesday; more likely it will do the opposite."

But the Post's own polling data suggests that, if there has been any shift in voter preferences since the release of the bin Laden tape on October 29, it has been in the direction of Senator John Kerry, not Bush. The last Post poll conducted entirely before the bin Laden tape aired (released October 29) gave Bush a three-point advantage, 50 percent to Kerry's 47 percent. The Post's most recent poll, conducted from October 27-30, showed Kerry and Bush tied at 48 percent. That's a three-point shift in Kerry's favor.