Conservatives are usually the first to complain about the media’s ideological bias — and their narrative on the topic is very strong. Witness, for example, the way the media embraced Barack Obama’s presidential campaign; his self-created autobiographical description as a high-minded reformer.
Another example: as the health care debate progresses, reporters and news anchors from every major network fall all over themselves to explain away “misconceptions” about President Obama’s health insurance reform plan. I often wonder how Bush’s Social Security reform plans of 2005 would have fared if the media had run nightly segments pouncing on the disinformation spread about it.
But today, liberals are taking a turn complaining about media bias. MoveOn.org believes the president is getting a raw deal as he pursues an expansion of government control over health care. In an email pitch sent out today, the group asserts that Obama’s health plan is in fact quite popular, and that the media is to blame for the appearance that it is failing.
After a few weeks of health care craziness, there’s good news: we’re winning on the ground. Lots of town halls are now dominated by supporters of health care reform. The vast majority of Americans want the choice of a public plan. And a powerful bloc of progressives in the House is standing strong on real reform. The really bad news? The media’s still acting like President Obama’s health care plan is on the skids.
Then again, a brand new CBS News poll finds that since June, public faith in government’s ability to provide better health coverage than the private sector has fallen from 50 percent to 36 percent. Public faith in government’s ability to control health care costs better than the private sector has fallen from 59 percent to 47 percent. This reflects what other surveys have suggested. And along with the image of his health care plan, the president’s ratings have fallen as well. Rasmussen Reports, one of the few firms that polls likely voters when asking about presidential approval, has Obama’s rating down at 45 percent today.
Perhaps the public just has it wrong.
