It doesn't seem to be unusual for the media to mention a positive story for the McCain campaign, only to be explained away by a surrogate or two. But ABC News outdid themselves today. In a four page online article about the 2008 presidential feud for female voters and a byline of McCain doubling their female volunteers, ABC News managed to squeeze in five different quotes/remarks to rebuke any positive news for the McCain/Palin ticket.
Quote ratio? Five to one, if you include the quote from Obama's campaign ad. Five views/endorsements favoring Obama and one perspective from McCain's campaign/surrogates. You have to love all that balance.
Here's ABC News' interpretation of the story:
Big news! McCain has had a surge of female volunteers for his campaign since Palin became the VP nominee. But let's bury that and tell you what all the Obama people think about the female voters and why those McCain volunteer numbers don't matter. Barack is the champion of all women's causes because he's not President Bush. And Obama has always cared about women, unlike his opponent, President Bush, um, Senator McCain. Palin can't even relate to any female voters at all, because she is so out of touch with women's issues.
That about sums the article up. Oh, and where is Joe Biden? He's not even mentioned in the ABC News story. Do you suppose he's not relevant in wooing women voters/volunteers? Perhaps not where the ABC News graphics department is concerned.
Of all the photos ABC News could find to make their graphic displayed here, they couldn't find one of Governor Sarah Palin smiling? Yet they managed to find one of all the other people in the image grinning from ear to ear. Given the context of the story is that more women are volunteering for the "Women for McCain" group since the Palin pick, you would think they would have a different image entirely. Oh, and where is Joe Biden again? Isn't he on the Democrat ticket?
Personally, this photo of Palin with that steely-glance reminds me of Dirty Harry. Go ahead, Congress, make my day!
Bias? You be the judge.