The New York Times’ Bi-Coastal BiasPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Feb. 08‚ 2008The New York Times had it embarrassingly wrong yesterday, as a front-page headline claimed that Barack Obama’s “fervor fell short” on Super Tuesday. Really? Did anyone predict he would win more states than Hillary Clinton, grab Missouri, and take Minnesota by a 2-1 margin? By focusing on the big coastal (blue) states where Clinton prevailed, the Times exposed their bias against Middle America. As we all know, the nomination is a fight for delegates – and if you break down the results that way, it’s clear that Obama still retains an edge. But you won’t see that in yesterday’s Times, where a chart on the front page claimed that Clinton won the Super Tuesday primary by 84 delegates. Only trouble is that chart did not include the delegate count in five states that Obama carried by a landslide – Minnesota, Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota and Alaska. |