Taking Back TV Election Projections

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

The latest from the Political Grapevine:

Calls for Kerry

After FOX News Channel projected President Bush the winner of Ohio (search) on election night, the Kerry campaign called ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, urging them, according to the Washington Post, to refrain from making the same projection.

But by that time, NBC had already called Ohio for President Bush. The other three, though, didn't call the state for President Bush until later Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, the President's political adviser, Karl Rove, called FOX News after we called Ohio, encouraging the network to call New Mexico for President Bush. We declined the request, and didn't call the state until the following afternoon.

Successful Election Season?

You might have thought that having added to their majorities in both the House and Senate, Congressional Republicans were quite successful this election. Not so, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (search). The committee has sent a letter to donors saying "Republicans unleashed every weapon in their arsenal to deliver a knockout blow to Congressional Democrats. They failed! ... we successfully defended Democratic members of the House, losing only one incumbent outside of Texas."

Related

Plett's Plight

The BBC (search) is now criticizing one of its own correspondents, Barbara Plett, who said the sight of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat leaving his compound to go to Paris for treatment brought her to tears. But it apparently wasn't her crying over Arafat that was the problem, it was admitting to it. BBC officials call it a "misjudgment."

As for the report — in which she spoke of the old terrorist as a "symbol of Palestinian unity, steadfastness and resistance ... an enduring national symbol" whose life has "been one of sheer dedication and resilience" — there was no problem with that. The report is still on the BBC's Web site.

Moore Noise?

And the left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore (search), who had remained nearly quiet since the presidential elections, is now posting new items on his Web site, including this map of North America which joins Canada with the states won by John Kerry, and calls them "The United States of Canada." And as you can see, it combines the states won by President Bush into what Moore calls "Jesusland."

In a new message, Moore accuses the media of refusing to report that young voters turned out in record numbers, insisting, "I guess it is easier to simply repeat the same broken down clichés than it is to find out what the truth really is."

But while young voters did come out in record numbers, so did voters of all ages — and young voters made up about 17 percent of this year's voters — the same percentage as four years ago.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report

See Political Grapevine Archive

ADVERTISEMENT

FOX NEWS VIDEOS



uASK|uREPORT

INTERVIEW

Blog Postings


  • Lies, spies and .summits
    Seven Democratic members of the Intelligence Committee wrote CIA director Leon Panetta a letter to ask him to “publicly correct” a statement he made saying that it is not ” the policy or practice of the agency to mislead Congress.” The Democrats say Panetta told Congress that senior CIA officials concealed actions and misled lawmakers [...]

    read post
  • Stimulus the sequel, public option, Palin 2012??, and .the direction of media coverage
    In an interview with Fox News, President Obama said a second stimuluscould still be an option—Major Garrett sat down with the President today in Moscow. President Obama said that he was aware that given the economic crisis recovery would prove to be difficult no matter what, but that unemployment was nearing 10% and he was [...]

    read post
  • Agreements, protests turned deadly andcomedian turned politican (finally)
    President Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today in Moscow and both menpledged they were on a path to “reset” ties between the United States and Russia. The two leaders signed a statement to reduceeach country’snuclear arsenals. President Obama and President Medvedev held a joint news conference in which Medvedev said his talks with [...]

    read post
twitter
ADVERTISEMENT