Andrew Malcolm continues to embarrass LA Times with his dishonesty
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
Laura Bush's former flak just can't help himself when it comes to writing about polling, and specifically Obama's polling. He simply cannot tell the truth about the topic.
Here is the Obama-bashing blogger's latest, in the wake of the health care reform passage [emphasis added]:
However -- insert political alarm here for candidates running in November's midterms -- nearly half of Democrats (41%) and two out of three coveted independent voters want the GOP to continue its challenges. That would make for a tumultuous next several months and an active two-party system again in D.C. As Obama confronts souring favorable ratings.
Malcolm highlights the fact that the president is now confronting “souring favorable ratings.” When readers click on the link provided by Malcolm, it takes them to an item he posted on March, 18, about Gallup polling that showed Obama's approval rating had fallen to 46 percent. (In the item, Malcolm erroneously claimed Obama's rating had “suddenly” fallen. It had not.)
But in order to claim that Obama is currently confronting “souring favorable ratings,” Malcolm had to ignore the most recent Gallup numbers, which clearly show the president's numbers on the increase in the wake of the health care reform vote. (i.e. March 17, 46%; March 22, 51%)
Malcolm, citing Gallup numbers, claims Obama's approval rating in the wake of the health care vote is “souring.” But according to Gallup, the opposite is true.
Can pundits get any more dishonest than that?