Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
Is Fox Coaching the Focus Groups? Watching the Focus Group after the Debate Fred Thompson was the winner and Paul the loser. The answers seemed to be right on queue.by EJ Moosa
(Libertarian)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Minutes after the Fox Debate in South Carolina, we saw Frank Luntz ask how many thought Fred Thompson won the debate. We did not hear him ask of any other candidates. While appearing to be live, he already knew the answer to the staged questions. He knew which people to go to at the start for the encouraging Fred Thompson comments. "We've been waiting a long time to see Fred Thompson do really well", Luntz says after seeing a show of hands.
The camera was ready to move smoothly from one positive Fred supporter to the next. If a negative comment was made, Luntz would ask another participant if that was true or not, discounting the negative comments made.
Are pollsters supposed to be biased? If they are going to be they should disclose it.
And of course they conclude with Ron Paul being the loser of the debate. No suprise there from Fox on that outcome. I can only wonder how much of that was rehearsed as well. There were no follow-ups to see why or if everyone agreed. From the questions during the debate, to the after-debate analysis, it was clear Paul is the man they want silenced.
And just as Paul pointed out that the Republican Party no longer represents Republican ideals, there seems to be little left to a fair and balanced report from Fox News.
The one on one interviews after the debate also showed a decidedly strong bias towards Fred Thompson. He received 7 plus minutes discussing the debate with Hannity and Colme.
With Mike Huckabee, Sean gives him yet another chance to address a topic not in the debate: Crime. Why did Hannity bring this up, allowing Huckabee once again to say what a terrible tragedy it was for the girl killed after he pardoned a criminal?
Continuing to watch, I did not see Ron Paul get his post-debate interview. Nor was it explained where he was. If he had come on, it would have been an hour after the debate had ended and long after most viewers had tuned out.
I am glad we have the technology to watch and decide for ourselves what we have heard. I hope others like you are aware to what is being done regarding this election.
Did you watch the debate and the focus group session? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment.
Did you like this article? If you did, Thumb It! 15 thumbs so far
2008 EJ Moosa, all rights reserved.
Published: Saturday, January 12, 2008
Last modified: Saturday, January 12, 2008
The views expressed in this
article are those of EJ Moosa only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. EJ Moosa is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
I watched the debate and appreciate your insight on the events. On Ron Paul not being invited for a post-debate interview with Hannity and Colmes, I believe that he had a pre-arranged meeting elsewhere and did not attend by his own choice.
There is a great video on youtube exposing Frank Luntz as a propagandist, not an analyst. Another one shows him exposed by RP supporters in NH. He has been pretty thoroughly discredited.
Ron Paul reportedly refused to be interviewed by Hannity saying "I have better things to do than talk to a couple of neocons!"
I watched the "debate" some, but had to change channels when Rudy spoke. He's so sickening, I just can't stand it. The "focus group" was obviously stacked, or perhaps collectively mentally challenged. As far as I'm concerned, not one of the sold-out neo-CON lackeys (other candidates) is capable of debating Dr. Paul, which is why they resort to meaningless sound-bites and childish smirking.
As for the post-debate interviews, I applaud Dr. Paul for not being there. Sean Hannity isn't worthy of such distinguished company.
Posted By: George Collins
Date: 2008-01-12 07:36:48
Dr Paul distinguished himself once again among his "peers" as the only one that had factual, well thought out answers to the issues of our day. The could be one to several reasons the other guys smirk/smile/laugh when Dr. Paul Speaks, including, but not limited to:
They may simply not have the IQ required to comprehend what Dr. Paul is saying.
They may know that to win elections, the candidate must pander to emotions/feelings ala Bill Clinton and since Paul isn't doing so they realize his chances may be slim and out of sincere desire to see Dr Paul do well, they try to coerce him into making emotional appeals and offering feel-good solutions to the issues of the day knowing that campaign promises mean nothing, getting elected and attracting personal power to one's self is all that matters.
They may have been coached to behave in such a way by the media masters as a way of detracting from his credibility because all attempts of theirs to engage him in a one-on-one encounter has ended disasterously for whomever took him on. Remember when Dr. Paul gave Guliani the summer reading list? Classic!
And then there is Sean Hannity et al that take issue with his own viewers about who won the debate. The role of the news media in most instances ought to be conveyance of fact and occassional commentary but they shouldn't be interjecting their personal opinions into those news items that purport to convey fact. Commentary should be confined to well defined times when the viewer can mentally arm himself against the personal views of the "newsman." For instance, Hannity should have merely relayed to the Fox audience that Dr. Paul won the dabate according to Fox's text message poll. He shouldn't have interjected his personal opinion into the mix. The post debate poll was Dr. Paul's moment to shine. Hannity has his little radio show that is dedicated to putting his rants before the public.
Dr. Paul truly is a man/scholar/statesman among a field of egomaniacal children.
The most telling thing about the focus group was the phrase "your bosses". They must have been "randomly" chosen Fox News employees. There is no other possibility.
Want to comment on this
article? Leave your comment here. Your email address is
required to track your comment. However, we will neither
publish your email address nor distribute it to other
organizations or persons. The only reason we might use
it would be if we needed to contact you regarding your
comment. All comments are subject to our
terms of use policy.
2008 EJ Moosa, all rights reserved.