'Does Axelrod Poll For ABC?'

February 6th, 2012 7:33 AM

Joe Scarborough had a jocular way this morning of pointing out the pro-Dem bias in ABC/Washington Post polls.

On Morning Joe, after Mark Halperin cited a new poll from the conglomerate with many findings favorable to President Obama, Scarborough facetiously asked "does Axelrod poll for ABC?" He went on to detail the way the polling combine consistently puts its fat left thumb of the scales for Dems. Video after the jump.



Watch Scarborough make the not-so-subtle point that the polling conglomerate leans decidedly left.

MARK HALPERIN: There's a new ABC/Washington Post poll that David Axelrod tweeted last night was, quote, worth a read.  I can see why he likes it.  It shows the president up over Mitt Romney by a lot, and doing particularly well on the question "who understands the economic problems of the middle class?"

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Which poll?

HALPERIN: ABC News/Washington Post. It's filled with good stuff for the president.  Head-to-head against Romney, and strong on almost every issue. Romney's going to have to do a lot, if he's the nominee, to put himself in a better position.  There's still plenty of time --

SCARBOROUGH: Does Axelrod poll for ABC?

HALPERIN: [chuckling] No he does not.

SCARBOROUGH: Oh. I'm just curious.  I joke about it, but again, last time I said this other polls followed.  But ABC News/Washington Post polls always have about a three, four, five-percent point tilt in the president's direction.  There are others like Rasmussen that go the other way.      

Note: Halperin was citing a poll of an organization of which he is an alum.  Halperin was once political director of ABC News where he infamously stated in an email to his reporters that they should not "artificially hold George W. Bush and John Kerry 'equally' accountable" to the public interest, and that complaints from Bush supporters were an attempt to "get away with ... renewed efforts to win the election by destroying Senator Kerry."