Poll: Nearly Half Of Dems Say Media Is Harder On Hillary
March 1, 2008 -- 11:10 AM EST // //

Updated below.

Well, it looks like we've found yet another topic on which many average voters are way ahead of the pundits: The question of whether the media is harder on Hillary than on other candidates.

As regular readers know, this blog is sympathetic to the claim that in the broadest possible sense, much media coverage and punditry is unfair to Hillary on a very fundamental level and is tougher on her than on her rivals. This claim was advanced recently by the Hillary campaign itself -- a fact that doesn't necessarily render the claim false, incidentally -- prompting an instant outpouring of scorn from top-shelf commentators.

Maureen Dowd, for instance, had a grand old time mocking the claim, snarking: "It is only because of the utter open-mindedness of the press that Hillary can lose 11 contests in a row and still be treated as a contender."

Well, it looks like much of the public is able to see the obvious, even if Dowd and her cohorts won't. Check out what Democratic primary voters think of this matter, according to this week's New York Times poll:

Compared to the way the news media have treated other candidates, have the news media been harder on Hillary Clinton, easier on Hillary Clinton, or have they treated her the same as other candidates?

Harder 48%

Easier 8%

Same 43%

Meanwhile, only 13% say the press is tougher on Obama. Now, a couple quick caveats. Yes, the Hillary camp's media bashing is a strategy. And no, Hillary isn't merely a passive victim of bad coverage -- her campaign is partly to blame for her media travails, too. Also, it would be more illuminating if a pollster asked if people see the media as unfair to Hillary, rather than just asking if they think the press is harder on her, as this poll does.

Nonetheless, these numbers are noteworthy. The fact that the press is tougher on her should be plainly obvious to anyone who's paying even the most cursory level of attention to what's happening, and it's good to see that sizable chunk of the voters can see this, even if many pundits continue to pretend that it isn't the case.

Update: Some readers point out that a larger number -- 51% -- think the coverage has been the same or easier on her. I don't think this diminishes the larger point here. Nearly four times as many respondents (48%) think the press has been harder on Hillary than think it has been harder on Obama (13%).

What's more, it's still eye-opening that nearly half of Dems say the media's been harder on Hillary -- it's a far larger proportion than among the pundits, who rarely if ever acknowledge this to be the case. That's the main point here.

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