Scott Bauer at AP Warned Walker Had a 'Narrow 7-Point Lead' in Poll

June 6th, 2012 11:40 AM

I noticed at lunch on Tuesday while reading the handy Washington Post commuter tabloid called "Express" that Scott Bauer at Associated Press actually wrote this sentence: "A Marquette University Law School poll released last week showed Walker with a narrow 7-percentage point lead over Barrett, 52 percent to 45 percent." That looks like a pretty accurate poll.

Is this what the 2008 race was for Obama, a "narrow 7-percentage point lead" over McCain? Is that what AP will write if Obama is leading in October by seven points? This wasn't even the only time Scott Bauer used that ludicrous passage. Let's go back to last Thursday, from the same song sheet:

A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday showed Walker with a narrow 7-point lead over Barrett, 52 percent to 45 percent.

In a Monday Q&A feature, Bauer also threw cold water on Walker:

Q: If there's an effort to kick Walker out of office, does that mean his approval rating is low?

A: The recall is more a result of how divided the state is over Walker and his policies. His approval rating among Wisconsin respondents in the most recent Marquette University Law School poll was 51 percent, just 1 percentage point less than President Barack Obama's.

Not everyone at AP was this negative. Here's Thomas Beaumont on the same Marquette poll on Sunday:

Recent polls suggest it's more likely Walker wins. He led Barrett in a Marquette University Law School poll published Wednesday that also found 92 percent of Republican likely voters said they were "absolutely certain to vote" in the recall, while only 77 percent of Democrats said the same.