WaPo distorts own polling to suggest public blames Obama, GOP equally

Here's the lede of the Washington Post's report on its new poll:

Americans spread the blame when it comes to the lack of cooperation in Washington, and, in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, most want the two sides to keep working to pass comprehensive health-care reform.

But if you scroll all the way to the end, you'll find that the poll actually paints a rather different picture: A plurality of Americans think President Obama is doing “about the right amount to compromise with Republicans.” A majority think Obama is either doing the “about the right amount” or “too much” to compromise. Meanwhile, 58 percent of Americans think Republicans are doing too little to compromise.

I'll say that again: According to the Post poll, 54 percent of Americans think Barack Obama is doing either the right amount or too much to compromise with Republicans, while 58 percent think Republicans are doing too little to compromise with Obama.

And yet the Post writes that up as “Americans spread the blame when it comes to the lack of cooperation in Washington.” That may be consistent with the Post's both-sides-are-equally-guilty approach to the lack of bipartisanship, but it isn't an accurate reflection of the poll.