Want the truth? Read between the lines

Here’s a phrase you may not expect to come from a newspaper editor — don’t believe everything you read.

I thought the media speculation over Gov. Sarah Palin’s choice as McCain’s VP was beginning to die down more than a month into the run. Then came last night’s vice presidential debate between Palin and “Say it Ain’t So” Joe Biden like a can of gasoline on a campfire.

Immediately, Fox news online had a political pundit praising Palin for clearly winning the debate and showing why she’s the slam dunk at the end of the Republicans’ drive to the White House. A Fox poll showed 80-some percent of America agrees that Palin the pit bull emerged as top dog.

Wow. Impressive. Following a few interview gaffes and blunders, the country was waiting to see if Palin has the stuff to hold her own. She does, and showed it.

But I wanted to compare the major cable news networks and how they covered the debate.

A visit to CNN online was eye-opening as well. Reading the reaction there, Biden was the clear winner and Palin failed miserably. Its poll also showed 80-some percent of America thought Biden won as well.

Hmm.

Seems even those who are supposed to report and react with neutrality can’t resist using events like last night’s debate to skew public opinion toward their own.

It would be foolish to believe more than 80 percent of Americans who watch the debate believe either candidate was a clear winner. And the talking heads, the supposed “experts” in the political arena, spew their left- or right-leaning lines no matter what was said or the outcome. To hear Carl Bernstein on CNN sum up the debate, Biden could have roared onto the stage on a Harley driven by a skinhead, burned a cross on his podium and cursed like a sailor and still have hammered our governor.

It’s too bad that with most of our mainstream media, those who crave honest, unbiased information have to read between the lines to get it.

—Greg Johnson, Managing Editor