On October 2, CNN Reliable Sources host Howard Kurtz asked his panel this question: “Does this media verdict [about Senator John Kerry's performance in the first debate] have anything to do with maybe reporters being closet liberals, or even rooting for a closer race?”

Kurtz's question came even after panel guest Roger Simon, U.S. News & World Report chief political correspondent, had provided this explanation for the media's reaction: “Every now and then, journalism does reflect reality, even if by accident. And what happened was Kerry had a terrific debate.”

Voters appear to agree. In polls conducted by CBS, ABC, and CNN/USA Today/Gallup immediately after the debate, Kerry was the clear winner -- besting President George W. Bush by 15 percent, 9 percent, and 16 percent, respectively. In a Los Angeles Times poll conducted the night of September 30 after the debate and on October 1, of those who watched, “more than three times as many called Kerry the winner as picked Bush.” And according to a poll conducted by Newsweek between September 30 and October 2: “Among the three-quarters (74 percent) of registered voters who say they watched at least some of Thursday's debate, 61 percent see Kerry as the clear winner, 19 percent pick Bush as the victor and 16 percent call it a draw.” Newsweek suggested that “Kerry's perceived victory may be attributed to the fact that, by a wide margin (62 percent to 26 percent), debate watchers felt the senator came across as more confident than the president.”

Or perhaps all those voters are closet liberals.