Reuters And Newsweek - Perfect Together

Newsweak can't seem to keep itself from spreading GOP gloom. How convenient that a picture from an Iowa rally on Friday by Jason Reed / Reuters, used to illustrate the piece, just happened to catch one young boy yawning, standing next to a woman caught in a blink.

Evidently, the image was so good, Reuters even cropped it, putting it over the wire twice.

As for the Newsweek story, the headline couldn't be more misleading:

A new NEWSWEEK poll shows that the GOP has lost more ground. Will rallying the base stem a Democratic tide?

Just as the picture doesn't portray the rally accurately, the headline doesn't do any better in portraying the story after the lede:

While the GOP has lagged behind Democrats throughout the campaign season, the trend in the past month—when NEWSWEEK conducted four polls in five weeks—had suggested the Republicans were building momentum in the homestretch.

Somehow the GOP has managed to lose ground while gaining momentum? Apparently Rove isn't just a genius, now he's performing impossible feats! No, just Newsweek relying on an irrelevant National R versus D poll of feelings, using that for their headline and, under the lede, burying the fact the GOP has important momentum in many race by race polls.

Here's a local story of the rally in Iowa:

President Bush rallied thousands of activists on Friday in a final push to get high voter turnout next week in heavily Republican western Iowa. Bush fired up about 2,500 people packed into a high school gymnasium, urging them to vote for Republican Jim Nussle for governor.

"Remind them of the stakes,'' Bush told a cheering, flag-waving crowd that often interrupted him to chant, "USA.'' "You've got to elect a Republican governor and a Republican House and Senate, and the country will be better for it.''

Bush swept through northwest Iowa on the campaign's final weekend in a tactical move that GOP strategists said will increase voter turnout on Tuesday.

It isn't illustrated, maybe Reuters didn't provide anything befitting the story. You can find more pictures of the rally here.  They paint a slightly different portrait than the one Newsweek and Reuters managed to do.

Comments

[meep]

Last time I checked, kids can't vote. At least, Republican ones. So why does it matter that a kid is yawning?

Of course, it looks like he could be yelling "PACKERS!"

It's so difficult to tell the difference sometimes.

[larry]

the commies used to have a darkly cynical saying: "there is no 'truth' in 'pravda'."

all party-sanctioned media the same: never tell the truth when a lie will do better.

[Rammstein]

let us see:

republicans most likely loosing their congressional seat:

Colorado 07, last time around 55% republican, now most likely democratic (democratic candidate 54%, republican 38% according to Survey USA)

PA-10, Don Sherwood (R) looks like going down to democrat Christopher Carney (last poll +9% for Carney)

PA-06, Jim Gerlach (R) looking like being defeated by democrat Lois Murphy (last poll, Murphy by 5%)

OH-18, last time around a safe republican district with 66% of the vote in 2004 for the republican candidate, this time looks like going democratic. Joy Pagett (R) is trailing democrat Zack Space quite considerably by 20% in the last poll by Zogby

NY-29, Randy Kuhl (R) might loose his seat against democratic candidate Eric Massa (last poll Kuhl trailing Massa by 11%)

NY-25, republican James Walsh trailing in the polls by 9% against democrat Dan Maffei.

NM-01, republican Heather Wilson trailing in the polls by 9% against democrat Patricia Madrid

NH-02, republican Charlie Bass trailing in the polls by 8% against democrat Paul Hodes

NC-01, republican Charles Tailor trailing in the polls by 5% against democrat Heath Shuler

KY-03, republican Anne Northrup trailing in the polls by 8% against democrat John Yarmuth

IN-08, republican John Hostettler trailing in the polls by 10% against democrat Brad Ellsworth

IN-02, Chris Chocola trailing in the polls

IL-06, most likely going democratic

IA-01, democrat Braley leading in the polls by 9%

FL-16, last time around 68% republican, now polling 48-41 for the dems

And there is a whole score of seats of which some will most likely go democratic this time like:

AZ-05 / AZ-08 / CA-11 / CT-02 / CT-04 / CT-05 / FL-22 / ID-01 / IL-10 /
KY-04 / NC-08 / NY-19 / NY-24 / OH-01 / OH-02 / OH-15 / PA-07 / PA-08 /
TX-22 / VT-AL / WI-08

those are 21 seats of which only a few need to fall in democratic hands for them to take over the congress.

At the moment Electoral-vote is predicting: 240 dems - 195 repubs

Personally I think it will most likely be more like 225 dems - 210 repubs.

[Alex]

Your bold quote is incomplete ... perhaps you didn't read the "story continues below" ... where the next sentence reads: " ... ** No more ** . The new poll finds support for Republicans (and for President Bush) ** receding **. For example, 53 percent of Americans want the Democrats to win enough seats to take control of one or both houses of Congress in the midterm elections on Tuesday. Those results are close to early October levels, while less than a third of Americans (32 percent) want Republicans to retain control."

[Rammstein]

latest job rating for president Bush:

35% approve, 56% disapprove

[WWU Vet]

The Republicans aren't going to lose the House. You heard it here. The Dems will pick up seats in both chambers, but will not regain either. This will be the biggest election surprise since Dewey-Truman. Mark my words.

The biggest Republican problems lie in the next 6 years. Consider:

-They have held the Senate and the Presidency for the overwhelming majority of the last 38 years, and the House for the past 12. Most Supreme Court appointees are Republican. Just as the Reagan revolution represented a major "correction" in US politics after 40+ years of New Deal liberalism, there will come a time very soon where American voters will begin to recognize that the Republicans are the ruling party.

-Two Republican candidates do very well in polls vs. likely Democratic challengers. Those candidates are pro-choice, pro-gay marriage Rudy Giuliani and confusing maverick John McCain. The Republicans actually have an EXCELLENT chance of winning in '08. The paradox is, though, that the only winnable candidates are way to the left of Bush. Even Bush has had trouble with the evangelical right. What's going to happen to the party if Rudy or McAnal win? Additionally, the only thing the Demos can do is move to the left to distinguish themselves from Rudy or McAnal. IOW, a leftward shift of the political center in this country is inevitable.

If there ever was a ripe opportunity for a viable third party to come onto the scene to deal with REAL issues (i.e. deficits, the China threat, immigration, health care, Social Security, global warming, energy dependence) it is now. It's time to cast sick, tired labels like "right/left," "liberal/conservative", "Republican/Democrat" aside and deal with real issues.

[richard]

The liberal media also covered the Kerry joke flap 24/7 for three days. It's just looking for red meat to throw to the masses. It covered Clinton's penis like there was no tomorrow, remember? There is no liberal media; it's a pure myth. The NYT cheerled us into Iraq and praised the operation to the heavens whilst we were winning, then damned it as it became apparent we'd screwed up in our preparations. Mediocre, reactive, amateurish, hysterical - those are all the things the US media are. Liberal is one thing they certainly are not.

[larry]

aaaaaah, it's always such a treat when the left-wing nitwits take a crack at updating orwell for us.

"losing the war is the same as peace"
"having to show ID to vote is slavery"
"we support the troops"
"there is no liberal media"

the best part is, they see no irony. they really think we're going to believe it - heck, they might even believe it themselves. (see above)

[dylan]

WWU dude.. Your problems ain't six years away. They're here. Now. Tuesday.
Nice use of framing recent history for your harebrained predictions...but its over boss.
Your Party, that I'm sure you would disavow if asked, has failed at the actual work of politics.. governing. They both mess it up. It is hard work as your leader tells you.
It's time for someone else to do this hard work.

[kate]

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent in October, a five year low. The Bush tax cuts worked.