Media Watchdog: Kerry Needed Boost, So Networks Give Him 3rd Debate
by Chad Groening
October 18, 2004
(AgapePress) - The Virginia-based Media Research Center (MRC) says the liberal media was true to form when it declared John Kerry the winner of last week's final presidential debate.Tim Graham, director of media analysis at MRC, says he was hoping the mainstream media would actually surprise him and give an accurate assessment of the debate. He felt President Bush came across as "human and genuine" in the debate, while Kerry came across as "someone with an icy, aristocratic demeanor."
But Graham says the media was compelled to declare Kerry the winner because he needed a boost.
"I think there is a feeling on both sides that President Bush is better on the stump," the MRC spokesman says. He contends the mainstream media felt they needed to pronounce Kerry the winner of the third debate to give the Democratic candidate a boost going into the end of this campaign.
"[They] certainly [didn't] want the momentum to seem to be shifting back toward the incumbent with three weeks to go, so they were very invested in trying to declare this a win for Kerry," he says, "whether the people at home thought so or not."
According to Graham, the liberal-dominated media knew the Massachusetts senator would be at a distinct disadvantage coming down the homestretch.
"The Kerry campaign has put a lot of emphasis on how it needed to win this final debate to have momentum going into these last three weeks," he says. "The Democrats have an inherent pessimism about the ability of Kerry on the campaign trail, on the stump, in staying focused, compared to President Bush."
If Graham is correct in his assessment, the media may not have as much influence as it thinks. A front-page story in USA Today says the president now has an eight-point lead over John Kerry. The USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll has Bush with 52 percent of likely voters while Kerry has 44 percent. The race is closer among registered voters. That group favors Bush over Kerry by a three-point margin (49 to 46 percent).
The poll was taken Thursday through Saturday last week -- the three days following the third and final debate. The USA Today report notes that one week earlier, Kerry had a one-point lead.
