Posted by
Mike Bates on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 12:49:49 AM
Anchoring CNN Tonight, correspondent Erica Hill
reported the findings of a new poll:
While Democrats and the president may be cheering the
bill's passage, a majority of Americans still oppose the Senate plan.
According to a CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, 56 percent say
they are against the measure. Now that's a slight shift actually in
favor of the plan from a weeks ago. When as you can see opposition was
as high as 61 percent, 42 percent support the plan, that number also up
at six points.
And when asked for the effect the health care bill would have on
their own family, 34 percent of respondents thought it would change
things for the better, 37 percent thought it would make things worst.
While 39 percent said it would have no effect. And when you figure the
sampling error, almost works out to even across the board.
The responses to the second question total 110 percent, an unlikely
result. Unless, of course, the poll were taken in Chicago by federally
funded ACORN operatives. That doesn't appear to be the case. The
actual poll question (#23) and results:
Thinking about the health care and health insurance that
is available to you and your immediate family, do you think the
proposals in the Senate bill would change things for the better, change
things for the worse, or not make any real changes at all?
Dec. 16-20, 2009
Change things for the better 22%
Change things for the worse 37%
No change 39%
No opinion 2%
So more than three out of four respondents think that the Senate
plan will either have no effect or change things for the worse for
their own families. Only slightly more than one out of five persons
polled believe the Senate bill will make it better. Hill was
completely wrong in concluding the result "almost works out to even
across the board."
It's likely the erroneous number came from replies to another
question in the survey, one that asked respondents about the impact on
"most Americans" rather than their own families. That larger number
could be attributable to the barrage of mainstream media stories
highlighting people seemingly hurt by the current system.
No, I don't think Erica Hill intentionally misrepresented her
network's findings. It's interesting, however, that neither she nor
her script writer nor anyone else at CNN caught the error, especially
since the graphic (I believe) reflected the correct numbers. Could it
be because they'd expect more public support for the Senate's health
care plan?
Will CNN correct the record for its viewers? It is, after all, the most trusted name in news.