We Were Wrong About Brian Williams
We stand corrected.
In our post below, I went to great lengths to demonstrate that NBC’s Brian Williams had asked Mitt Romney a question based on non-existent or distorted polling data. I was wrong.
As Hugh Hewitt reports here, there apparently is indeed a poll question that supports Williams’ question to Romney. Here’s the question:
24. We often hear people talk about the importance of unifying the country. Let me read you a series of different kinds of people who might become president. For each one, please tell me whether you feel that a person with this kind of background would make it easier to unite the country, harder to unite the country, or that it would really not make that much difference. *
.THIS TABLE HAS BEEN RANKED BY THE PERCENTAGE WHO SAY EASIER TO UNITE THE COUNTRY
Easier To Unite The Country/Harder To Unite The Country/Makes No Difference Either Way/Not Sure
A woman ……………………………………………… 23 29 44 4 [251]
An African American …………………………….. 16 25 55 4 [249]
An evangelical Baptist preacher…………….. 9 46 40 5 [247]
A person who is over age seventy …………. 6 37 53 4 [248]
A Mormon ……………………………………………. 3 44 49 4 [250]
* Asked of one-half the respondents (FORM A).
We apologize for our error. Two things are notable here, however:
-
We quoted Question 25 from the poll. Question 24 is the one with the data on which Williams relied, but Question 24 does not appear in the document to which MSNBC linked on its debate coverage page. If you look at that document, you’ll see that the portion of the poll that was available to us skips from Question 22e to Question 25. We were simply looking at the data MSNBC released, trying to find support for Williams’ question, and we relied on what was available. Still, we were wrong, and we apologize.
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On the now-available Question 24, the category “An evangelical Baptist preacher” got a 46% response, even higher than the 44% for “A Mormon.” In other words, 46% of respondents thought an Evangelical Baptist preacher “would make it . . . harder to unite the country. 44% said the same about a Mormon. And yet Romney the Mormon, not Huckabee the evangelical Baptist preacher, is the one who got the question. We still think NBC and Williams have some explaining to do about that.
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5 Responses to “We Were Wrong About Brian Williams”
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critical 1 on 25 Jan 2008 at 9:03 pm #
So, why are Brian Williams and NBC interested in “class warfare questions”? I think I know ….
Since when is a candidate’s sex, race, etc. supposed to matter?
Isn’t what they espouse politically what matters?
I think this question (and others like it) are included to assist the Clinton’s in their own racial warfare against Obama — make think about “class warfare” features of the candidate as the basis for how you perceive them.
Huckabee had a “higher” unfavorable rating the did Mitt — so why not “attack” him?
NOW: It just happens to also serve as a way to attack the most conservative (at least in the mind of the MSM) remaining GOP candidate.
4thnephite on 26 Jan 2008 at 6:15 am #
Has anybody been watching how the Clintons been beating up their own party?
It is about time Bill was on the other side of the fence and getting scrutinized for not only what he is thinking but for what he is saying. The Clintons have proven to their own people they will win at any cost, and they really do not care who they throw under the bus.
We now know Huckabee and McCain has taken the same approach, way too liberal with their own hidden agenda. Brian Williams and most of the media are falling in line.
The real story is not what they are saying, but what they are doing. They all need a bigger bus.
Sherry on 26 Jan 2008 at 7:17 am #
On the other hand, Romney receiving this question and Huckabee not receiving a similar one could certainly be an indication that the MSM, or at least Brian Williams, has decided Huckabee is a marginal, second-tier candidate. I saw a calculation of how much time each of the candidates spent talking during the debate and McCain and Romney, the two front runners, had, by far, the most time.
I still don’t think the question was appropriate. I thought it showed very poor judgment on the part of Brian Williams. And, based on the information on poll question 25, where was McCain’s question on how he would unite the country when his age is seen as such a handicap?
benbo on 26 Jan 2008 at 7:44 am #
You were completely wrong, and you still can’t stop yourself. Can you just stop at saying you were wrong please? I support Mitt but please, you called the main a liar and he did not lie. A couple points-
1. As far as I know, Huckabee is not a “Baptist preacher” anymore. He’s a Baptist, but I don’t think he’s technically been a preacher for many, many years. He was a governor, and he’s a politician. I may be wrong on this, if so correct me. but even so,
2. An interviewer is not required by some sort of unwritten law to ask everyone the same question. Romney is leading in the polls. He got a lot more questions and a lot more time than Huckabee did in the debate because if it. This seems like a fair question, albeit somewhat stupid. And by the way, I think he answered the question in a superlative manner.
So please, knock it off. Hewitt too. It is supporters like you that might eventually turn me off from Mitt, although I am a fair person and do not blame a candidate for his lame supporters.
JLFuller on 26 Jan 2008 at 10:41 am #
benbo
Huckabee is still preaching. He has been invited to preach on several occasions since the campaign began. His preacher background is included in his stump speeches and is part of his identity. It was Huckabee’s choice to include it. Comments and questions about that part of his life are therefore appropriate.
On the other hand, Romney has made it clear his religious preference is not part of his campaign. Others have injected it into his identity for political purposes. It was not his choice. Constitutionally, the subject is off limits. Therefore, comments and questions about it are not appropriate. NBC and Williams decided to ask anyway. That puts Williams at odds with the Constitutional ground rules too and makes him open to criticism. Williams has become fair game.