newsobserver.com projects - Doug Biddy - Comments

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

jerimee — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:56:05 -0400

Fox News isn't going to admit its bias either. While it's not surprising that Civitas and the John Locke Foundation feel well served by Under the Dome, at least Ryan doesn't repeat the GOP talking points that are demonstrably false.

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

tangoz — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:50:15 -0400

He made a post with Grier Martin. Grier needs to have the guts to put on his web site that he is a democrat. Why isn't he proud of his party? Could it be all of the corruption existing in the NC democratic party?

I am a veteran and do not think Grier has a original thought. He recycles the left wing mantra that even i have memorized. Hey Grier, the surge WORKED.

Paul Terrell III
http://terrellforhouse33.blogspot.com
www.wakegop.org/paul-terrell.htm

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

really — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:21:48 -0400

I thought Jeanne Smoot was firmly in Romney's corner? Apparently it didn't take much to get her on McCain's bus...

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:52:52 -0400

To put it pseudo-scientifically, the problem with your methodology is limited sample size.

I posted some 4,000 items last year. I don't know the math, but, yeah, I think if you flipped a coin 4,000 times you'd get 10 heads in a row at some point. (I'll have to check with my friend who works at SAS on that one...)

If you picked a random month and gave me some kind of spread, that might be interesting, but one day is not enough.

— RTB

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:50:38 -0400

Oh great. Francis DeLuca defending me. I've lost the BlueNC crowd for sure now...

— RTB

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

fxdeluca — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:50:21 -0400

Ryan, while you are in the mood to plug people how about another shout out for Civitas...

But seriously I looked at your last 10 posts and you started all of them with a consonant, not one of them with a vowel! You also are showing favoritism towards the letters D & M as each of them were used to start a post 3 times.

Sorry I don't have some great insight to share on the politics of the day but it wouldn't matter since everyone knows you are a left wing radical!

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

persondem — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:58:59 -0400

"Well, and if you flip a coin, it'll sometimes come up heads 10 times in a row too."

Ok so this is just random, eh? And you called my methodology weak!? So since my count above we have two Dole posts (free press) and a Hackney post with negative connotations (wasting taxpayer money) that are borderline explicit. The numbers don't lie and certainly aren't "kneejerk".

If you were losing money on a coin that flipped heads 19 out of 20 times I bet you'd cry foul and ask that the process be examined.

Your explanations are appreciated and have a bit of logic about them, but the thing is you are starting your coverage with republicans. Your thinking seems to start with those names rattling in your head to the exclusion of democrats, especially democratic positives. For example, you tell where McCrory is headed; the balance to that is to tell where Perdue's next campaign event is.

Perhaps this is just an unusual run; we'll see.

Who watches the watchmen?

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:34:40 -0400

Well, and if you flip a coin, it'll sometimes come up heads 10 times in a row too.

But you've made a serious effort, so I'll give you a serious response.

* The McCain ad footage could be read negative — he can't afford his own footage? — but I just thought it was interesting.

* The out-of-state money post was referred by a liberal blogger. I think both McCrory supporters and opponents would want to know about that.

* Again, with McHenry's loan and Dole's PAC, I think voters can make up their own minds what it means.

* The polling numbers are what they are. I can't make them more or less favorable to Democrats or Republicans if I wanted to.

* I suppose I could have gotten comment on McCrory's trip to New Bern, but it would be pretty predictable: "The people of New Bern like Bev Perdue," a spokesman said.

* McCain has not had many events in North Carolina, and I covered more than my share of Obama events during the primary. Look at the big picture.

Look, I'm sure I have biases. I try to be aware of them and correct for them, and I'm open to criticism, but this knee-jerk stuff is tiresome.

— RTB

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

hayek66 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:00:21 -0400

YOU LEAVE RTB ALONE. He's as fair and balanced as they come.

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

persondem — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:23:31 -0400

Ok, how's this for methodology - you had 10 posts in row that featured republicans in a positive light or that provided a free promotional opportunity not balanced by equivalent support for democratic candidates. A couple of those posts do include a line or two that could be seen as favorable to a democratic cause, but those few lines in no way balance the coverage.

Previous posts that feature democratic candidates mention Perdue's fund raising in which influence peddling is implied and Moore's lawsuit. Neither of those is close to positive. Going back further you have 3 consecutive republican posts, a balanced one Hagan/Dole, and then a negative one on Hackney supposedly cutting off debate.

So out of 17 posts, half of one plus a few scattered lines are favorable to democrats. So let's call it 16/1; that is a serious starboard tack.

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:34:22 -0400

Your metholodogy is still weak.

Look, I see multiple references to John McCain, Phil Berger, Pat McCrory, Elizabeth Dole, Bob Barr, Michael Munger and Art Pope right now on BlueNC's home page. Does that make it a conservative/libertarian blog?

— RTB

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

persondem — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:27:34 -0400

Actually it was 10 consecutive posts. When it hits double figures, it kind of seems like a trend.

And you know I didn't look at the posts that had slid off the front page, it could have been more than 10 in a row.

[edit to add ... I do appreciate the post on Grier Martin's response to the McCain supporters. So will there be 9 more featuring dems?? jk ]

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:14:29 -0400

Seriously? This is your methodology?

Look, I'm open to media criticism. I even dabble in it myself from time to time. But to make a case based on a half-dozen posts at a given time is just silly.

— RTB

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

ncpoli — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:14:04 -0400

Perhaps the peopledem just aren't making news this week?

Re: Veterans for McCain rally

persondem — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:07:49 -0400

Right now EVERY front page story at the Dome headlines a republican or features a poll in which a republican is leading.

Could your bias be any more obvious?