The New York Post’s anti-Giuliani spin on Florida primary

Correction: The New York Post article I quoted yesterday (“More good news for Romney, stunningly bad news for Giuliani”), says that Rasmussen reports Romney at 27 in Florida, Huckabee at 23, and Giuliani at 19. But the Rasmussen poll on which the Post article seems to be based, listed at Real Clear Politics, shows Huckabee at 27 and Romney at 23. The Post has transposed the figures for Romney and Huckabee. Also, Florida numbers from four other polling companies besides Rasmussen are listed at Real Clear Politics and all four show Romney and Huckabee much lower than in the Rasmussen poll, ranging between 9 and 18, and Giuliani much higher than in the Rasmussen poll, ranging between 26 and 38. Why did the Post mention only the Rasmussen poll, with its sensational turnaround against Giuliani in Florida, and not the four other polls that showed Giuliani holding his very commanding lead? This seems a further sign that the neocons are turning against Giuliani. Also, I think it’s possible that the Post’s transposition of the Huckabee and Romney figures was deliberate, so as to fuel the conservative switch to Giuliani’s main rival Romney.

Of course, it’s also possible that the Post ran with the Rasmussen figures simply because they were exciting, suggesting a dramatic turnabout in the race.

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Paul Gottfried (see his acerbic comments about Romney in an earlier post) writes:

What has happened is that the New York Post, National Review and much of the rest of the neocon propaganda network has shifted support from Rudy, whom they no longer think can win, to the Mormon. Note that Carol Iannone and my son Joey, both of whom stand nearer to the “conservative movement” than we do, have become ardent Romney backers. I think the fix is in.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 16, 2007 06:48 PM | Send