Political Journalism or Democratic Strategizing?

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One of the interesting evidences of bias in the mainstream press is the way that all political discussions tend to be written from the point-of-view of "what do the Democrats need to do to win?" This New York Times "analysis" is just the latest example. All of the factors that you'd expect to see from a PR firm trying to help Democrats get elected are present.

Introductory paragraph framing the issue from the Democrats' perspective? Check.

After being outmaneuvered in the politics of national security in the last two elections, Democrats say they are determined not to cede the issue this year and are working to cast President Bush as having diminished the nation’s safety.

Accusations of unseemly political gamesmanship from the Republicans? Naturally.

Seeking to counter White House efforts to turn the reported terrorist plot in Britain to Republican advantage, Democrats are using the arrests of the suspects to try to show Americans how the war in Iraq has fueled Islamic radicalism and distracted Mr. Bush and the Republican Congress from shoring up security at home.

Quotes from Democrats outnumbering quotes from Republicans? Absolutely.

...said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader in the House...

Representative Harold E. Ford Jr., a Democrat running for the Senate in Tennessee, issued a statement...“The president told us that the British attacks are a stark reminder that the nation is at war with Islamic fascists..." Mr. Ford said...

"...Republicans tried to sow fear in the American public by claiming that they were the only ones who could keep America safe,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said...

...Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said such findings ...

Obligatory quote from Republican, immediately countered by Democratic response? Oh, yes.

“Some say that America caused the current instability in the Middle East by pursuing a forward strategy of freedom, yet history shows otherwise,” Mr. Bush said, ticking off terror attacks that occurred in the United States, Africa and elsewhere long before he took office.

Democrats say that such comments may have had power in the past, but that Republicans are no longer getting the benefit of the doubt.

Polling that shows negative results for Republicans? It's in there.

While Republicans are still seen as doing a better job than Democrats in handling terrorism, the difference in the latest CBS poll is now about 8 points, about the same as a month ago, compared to the 25-point advantage Republicans held on the question four years ago.

Insertion of unrelated negative for Republicans? Of course.

Mr. Emanuel said that Mr. Bush’s public standing was cemented in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and...could not overcome the damage done by the bungled response to the storm.

“Katrina equals competency,” he said.

And yet, for some reason, their circulation keeps dropping. Hard to believe, isn't it?