The Note distorted Washington Post 's review of undecided voters' reactions to Kerry speech
Written by Jamison Foser
Published
On August 2, ABC News Political Unit's The Note distorted a Washington Post article, falsely suggesting that the article portrayed undecided voters as unenthusiastic about Senator John Kerry's speech at the Democratic National Convention. In reality, the Post article indicated that Kerry's speech went over quite well among the undecided voters the Post reporters talked to; the article even concluded that Kerry “clearly helped himself” and “all said they liked what they saw.”
“On Sunday, David Broder was lukewarm -- at best -- on Kerry's acceptance speech. On Saturday, the Washington Post's Dale Russakoff and Blaine Harden wrote up the reactions of undecided voters in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Florida who watched Kerry's speech on Thursday. The verdict? Some were only mildly more enthusiastic than Broder.”
“The verdict” of the Post article is that “some” weren't very enthusiastic? We're not sure The Note read the same article we did; in the version we read, the “verdict” was quite positive. But don't take our word for it -- or The Note's. Below are excerpts of the Post article (emphasis added), so you can judge for yourself:
The reactions weren't rousing, but they're just what the Kerry campaign wanted from one of the most coveted constituencies in America.
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Washington Post reporters watched Kerry's speech Thursday night with about two dozen undecided voters in three states and at least among that small sampling, the Democrat clearly helped himself. ... When it ended, they all said they liked what they saw and now will consider him seriously as a candidate -- although none said he closed the deal.
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All [of the Pennsylvanians] said they were impressed with Kerry's national security credentials, but they talked more about domestic issues.
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Kerry's many references to struggling middle-class families struck a chord with all the Lancaster voters.
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[In Oregon,] [f]ifteen voters sat in rapt silence in a garden apartment and sponged up Kerry's spiel. When it was over, even the Republicans in the room agreed that the Democratic presidential nominee had done himself a world of good.