March(ing) to the Polls

Journalists bristle whenever it is so much as implied that they don't maintain their neutrality or that they don't subject one candidate to the kind of scrutiny that is applied to another.

Maybe it's a part of that journalism school training. Journalists believe in freedom of the press, but they also believe (well, most of them do, anyway) every political candidate should be treated the same as all the others.

So when Hillary Clinton suggests that Barack Obama hasn't been getting the same kind of under-the-microscope treatment that Clinton feels she's been getting, it leads many people to re-examine what they've written and re-evaluate whether, consciously or unconsciously, they've given someone an unfair advantage.

"I don’t think that it’s kind treatment versus unkind treatment," an NBC reporter told Jacques Steinberg of the New York Times.

"Even in the conversations we have as colleagues, there is a sense of trying especially hard not to drink the Kool-Aid," the NBC reporter said.

But it's so easy for a reporter covering a political campaign to get carried away. "It’s so rapturous, everything around him," the NBC reporter said. "All these huge rallies."

"In a New York Times/CBS News telephone poll conducted Feb. 20-24 and released Tuesday, nearly half of those respondents who described themselves as voters in Democratic primaries or caucuses said the news media had been 'harder' on Mrs. Clinton than other candidates," writes Steinberg.

Do you think Clinton has a point? Has the press been giving Obama an easy ride?

In preparation for this post, I looked at newspaper websites from the four states holding primaries on Tuesday. In those four states, which includes Texas and Ohio, I found only one newspaper that endorsed Clinton.

(I should point out that many newspapers don't post editorials or endorsements on the internet. And other newspapers seem to go out of their way to make it exceptionally difficult to find editorials, so the fact that I only found one that endorsed Clinton doesn't mean there aren't others out there as well. It just means I didn't find them.)

Here's a look at the states holding primaries on Tuesday. And a glance at who's getting the backing of some of the newspapers in those states.

OHIO

Clinton leads Obama in recent polls of Ohio. But the margin varies in each poll, and the senator from Illinois has shown a tendency in previous primaries to make a strong, closing run that -- in recent weeks, at least -- propels him past his colleague from New York when they reach the finish lines.

In an American Research Group poll of Ohio voters concluded on Thursday, Clinton held a 50-45 advantage over Obama, with 3% saying they weren't sure and 2% expressing a preference for someone else.

A Rasmussen Reports poll that wrapped up yesterday says Clinton holds a narrow lead, 47-45, over Obama, with 9% unsure. Clinton held a similar lead in a Reuters/CSpan/Houston Chronicle/Zogby poll that went through Thursday. Her margin in that survey was 44-42, with 9% unsure, 1% for Mike Gravel and 5% supporting "others."

It's worth pointing out that surveys conducted a week or so ago in Ohio all showed Clinton leading by about 8 percentage points.

On the Republican side, John McCain is way ahead of Mike Huckabee in every recent poll. McCain's margin is 63-21 in the latest American Research Group poll, 62-19 in the most recent Reuters/CSpan/Houston Chronicle/Zogby poll, and 59-28 in the Survey USA poll concluded last Monday.

Barack Obama

Cincinnati Enquirer: "A president must be able to make hard decisions but must also be able to face -- even welcome -- dissenting views and understand that there can be validity in the opposition. Obama has been on the national stage for a relatively short time, but in that time he has demonstrated an ability and a willingness to work with others. He does not waste time demonizing those with different views."

Dayton Daily News: "He offers the Democrats a shot at one of their periodic restarts, like Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Bill Clinton. The moment should be seized."

Toledo Blade: "The Blade has a long-established principle of seldom endorsing a candidate in any primary election. It's easy to see, however, that this isn't a typical year. ... We urge Ohio Democrats to vote on Tuesday for ... U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois."

John McCain

Cincinnati Enquirer: "McCain not only has the instinct to do the right thing, but to do it with a tactical sense that could serve him well in the White House. Recently, when the New York Times published a story about his alleged relationship with a lobbyist, McCain confronted the issue quickly and strongly. He dealt with it, then moved on. He didn't overplay it."

Dayton Daily News: "In a time when the Republican Party is in trouble with independent voters and has problems with its own base, the party is right to put up a man whose appeal has always extended beyond the party."

Non-partisan

Columbus Dispatch: "Ohio's key role in a presidential primary race is cause for celebration. Often, the state's March primary, held two months earlier than in nonpresidential-election years, still is too late to matter much to front-runners of either party. Tuesday's vote matters enormously ... [R]egardless of how it is cast, every vote helps democracy work."

Ironton Tribune: "Voters here now sense that they are engaged and that empowerment can reap rewards. It is not that we should expect any special treatment, but we should expect candidates to understand our problems and then find a way to do something about them."

RHODE ISLAND

Voters in Rhode Island appear to have made up their minds in favor of Clinton and McCain.

Surveys of Rhode Island voters aren't up to the minute, by any stretch of the imagination, but on the Democratic side, Clinton led by 53-38 in the latest Rasmussen Reports survey (conducted Feb. 23) and by 52-40 in the most recent American Research Group poll (conducted Feb. 22).

McCain held a huge lead over Huckabee, 65-18, in the American Research Group poll conducted Feb. 20-21.

TEXAS

The polls have been showing a very tight race developing on the Democratic side, after initially showing Clinton with the lead in Texas. As with the previous two states, however, the presumptive Republican nominee has built a large lead -- and he could very well lock up his nomination on Tuesday.

American Research Group conducted a poll that wrapped up Thursday -- Obama led Clinton in that one, 51-44, with 3% unsure and 2% favoring someone else. Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion Research completed a poll on Friday that had Clinton leading in Texas, 47-43 with 10% undecided.

Obama leads in three other polls of Texas Democrats. Two of the polls completed their work on Thursday. Reuters/CSpan/Houston Chronicle/Zogby says Obama leads Clinton, 48-42 with 7% undecided and 3% favoring someone else. Fox News/Opinion Dynamics reports a closer race, with Obama leading, 48-45 with 5% unsure and 2% supporting a different candidate.

Rasmussen Reports completed a survey on Wednesday and found Obama in front, 48-44 with 8% unsure.

On the Republican side, McCain has a substantial lead in every poll of Texans I've seen.

As of Thursday, McCain led Huckabee in the American Research Group survey, 62% to 23%, and the Reuters/CSpan/Houston Chronicle/Zogby Poll, 53% to 27%. On Wednesday, Public Strategies reported finding that McCain was in front, 59% to 27%

Barack Obama

Austin American-Statesman: "Like a veteran slugger on deck, Hillary Clinton has campaigned principally on the logic that it is her turn at bat. Democrats must resist the instinct to select the next in line and grab instead the best hitter on the bench."

Corpus Christi Caller-Times: "Many Democrats, like many Republicans, find it easier and more comforting to vilify political opponents and nurse grudges than to take the bold step of reaching across political lines to find solutions wherever they may be found. Nominating the Illinois senator offers Americans a chance to transcend the old politics."

Dallas Morning News: "We don't always agree with his positions, but we recognize his potential to unite disparate political factions and restore cooperation between the White House and Capitol Hill."

Longview News-Journal: "There are few substantive differences between Obama and Clinton ... We believe the difference is in vision, the ability to inspire at home and abroad, and to offer hope to all Americans that their president is, indeed, a person who has our best interests at heart."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Yes, we know, hope is not a strategy. But it can get people working together to find one."

San Angelo Standard-Times: "Obama is a fresh voice and is attracting younger voters, but he faces a tough battle in any effort to bring about change if he is elected."

Hillary Clinton

Paris News: "Clinton served eight years as an active and influential first lady followed by a stint in the U.S. Senate where she served on the Armed Forces committee and gained the respect of her peers. If elected president, Clinton will do what she has done all her life -- throw herself into her work wholeheartedly."

John McCain

Austin American-Statesman: "The best candidate for president the Republican Party could offer to American voters in November is Sen. John McCain of Arizona. A conservative, McCain also is pragmatic -- he tries to solve problems, not just make the world, or the nation, work the way ideologues say it should."

Corpus Christi Caller-Times: "After seven years of George W. Bush's presidency, Republicans entered this political year with almost no chance of holding on to the White House. But McCain gives the party a strong chance. This is no time for Republicans to be booing the one candidate who has broad enough appeal to take them down the road to victory in November."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "As a Navy aviator and prisoner of war who has looked death in the face, he's tough enough -- with a salty, lifelong streak of maverick -- to buck his own party when necessary. And he's smart enough to know that compromise often is the best solution that either party is going to get."

Longview News-Journal: "McCain represents ... the only chance Republicans have of retaining the presidency -- precisely for the streak of independence that troubles some people in his party. McCain has the proven ability to draw in independents and even Democrats -- especially if Clinton is that party's nominee."

Paris News: "With McCain, what you see is what you get. The Republican’s patriotism is unmatched and his moderate political philosophy could be a uniting factor in a Washington that has grown more partisan during the past eight years."

San Angelo Standard-Times: "While some conservatives have balked at McCain and even threatened to vote for a Democrat, he is a strong leader and gives the GOP the best chance of keeping the White House in November."

Mike Huckabee

Dallas Morning News: "America needs a clean break from the bitter politics of the recent past. From the right, Mike Huckabee, a progressive conservative with a pastor's heart, can deliver."

Non-partisan

Bryan/College Station Eagle: "[C]hange has become the hot word in the presidential campaigns this year. Most of the candidates have cloaked themselves in the mantle of change at one time or anoher."

Dallas Morning News: "It's said that this fall's contest is going to be a 'change election.' Wouldn't it be grand change if, for once, the presidential candidates unambiguously took the high road?"

Denton Record-Chronicle: "Democracy ain’t easy, but as Winston Churchill sort of said, it’s way ahead of whatever’s in second place."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "The winner of the Nov. 4 presidential election will face awesome challenges in attempting to keep America safe from terrorism, its military strong, its deficit-riddled government solvent, its economy in the black, its massive entitlement programs for the elderly intact and its 303 million people happy -- or at least no more than mildly upset."

VERMONT

Polls of Vermont's Democrats (that was once an oxymoron, in the not-so-long-ago days when Republicans dominated the political scene in Vermont) show support running high for Barack Obama.

Rasmussen Reports concluded a survey Feb. 24 showing Obama with the lead, 57-33 with 10% unsure. American Research Group completed a poll three days earlier that had Obama in front, 60-34 with 5% unsure and 1% supporting someone else.

Among the Republicans, the poll numbers vary wildly, but the bottom line is that McCain is way ahead in the Green Mountain State.

American Research Group finished a poll of Vermont's Republicans on Feb. 21, and McCain had an enormous 73-11 lead there -- over Ron Paul. Huckabee was third with 9%, and 7% were unsure.

Also on Feb. 21, Research 2000 for WCAX reported completing a survey that had McCain leading Huckabee, 52-32. Paul was a distant third with 7%, and 9% were unsure.

Research 2000 for WCAX also conducted a survey of Vermont's Democrats and reported, on Wednesday, that Obama leads Clinton, 53-39 with 8% unsure.

Barack Obama

Brattleboro Reformer: "We believe that the choice between Clinton and Obama is a choice between the probability that nothing will change in a Clinton administration and the ever-so-slim possibility that some change might happen in an Obama administration."

White River Junction Valley News: "He recognizes a simple but powerful truth: that people must come together around the shared values that define the American democratic experience. The message sounds fresh, even transcendent, because for too long the ugly politics of division have cast a pall on government and alienated voters."

John McCain

White River Junction Valley News: "He should be just the ticket for Republicans astonished and appalled that, during the Bush years, their party has become identified with a brand of evangelical, anti-immigrant, big-government, borrow-and-spend 'conservatism' that is antithetical to its best traditions."

Non-partisan

Bennington Banner: "For many Democrats, it has been next to impossible to choose one of the remaining candidates for president over the other. In truth, they shouldn't try. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should be on the party's ticket in November."