Online readers get fired up over campaign coverage

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Jake Turcotte

Nothing gets the American people fired up like a presidential campaign and their emotions are a tell-tale sign of just how passionate they are about getting their candidate in office.

If they sense bias, for example, they'll snap at it.  We know.  In this blog alone, we get plenty of email.

On the topic of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's email getting hacked, we're told by Ray that our bias is showing -- we are against John McCain.

"This article cutely but clearly establishes Palin and Karl Rove to be at fault here," Ray writes.  "[But] if such a thing had happened to our Lord Obama, it would instantly be considered a hateful, racist attack of the lowest order and the hue and cry for justice would go out across the land."

Bud agrees.  In fact, Bud believes we should put more appropriately label our propaganda.

"You forgot to end your article with vote Obama ‘08!" he writes.

Well maybe not.  J says we are against Barack Obama.  Regarding the week long flap over Obama's use of the phrase, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig" we need to blame ourselves.  According to J, it's totally our fault.

"Did Obama call Palin a pig? Hmmmm…. nope," writes J.   "Where did I get that idea then….. Oh YEAH! From the Christian Science Monitor. They connected two disparate ideas in order to taint the Obama’s words. The Christian Science Monitor made it up."

Apparently not only politicians are flip-floppers.  Because going back to last month, Mark uncovers evidence of our support of the Democratic nominee.

"What has me suspicious is the article above apparantly supports Obama as evidenced by the way it “praises” the way the news media and Obama camp came up with it’s nifty one liners," Mark writes.

The writer of "The Vote" blog is obviously a leftist, writes Andy.

"Wow!! nice title you kool-aid drinking left loon Jimmy Orr," he writes on the topic of Sarah Palin departing to Alaska.

Not according to Mike.  He knows we have to be behind John McCain.

"For all of those here who are thinking Biden is talking about you, I can actually bet money, HS IS NOT," Mike writes. "I cannot believe CSM even carried this story in this manner because it is not what Biden is saying. But, what do you expect from Jimmy Orr, a one time Bush crony. What the **** would an “Internet Director” do anyways? Play traffic cop in the “tubes”?"

Staying in the tubes, Steve doesn't like how we covered the Palin hacked email issue.  He said we elevated the hackers to Woodward and Bernstein status.

"Judging by the tone of this post, the writer doesn’t seem to condemn the hackers’ actions at all," he writes.  "Instead of being portrayed as sleazy hatemongers who engaged in a despicable - and illegal - invasion of personal privacy, the hackers are framed as “gonzo” investigators who uncovered some kind of “Rovian conspiracy."

Speaking of the Washington Post, Peorgy Tirebiter suggests their readers possess a higher IQ than ours - although maybe by not too much.

"Wow," an astonished Tirebiter begins.  "Commenters at the illustrious CSMonitor are even stupider than those at the Washington Post."

All of our readers aren't stupid.  Just some of them.  You know -- those guys.... over there....

Jack, for example, isn't a fan of some of the more right-leaning visitors.

"The amount of conservative morons in these comments is sickening," Jack  "Its because of you idiots that our country is as screwed up as it is."

Jason appears to agree with Jack expressing a bit of discontent over some the tone in which some conservatives express their views.

"Keep bashing, morons! It just shows what a bunch of bitter angry anti-intellectual mental midgets you are," Jason postulates.

Although it's clandestine, Robert just may be revealing - albeit discreet - his opinion of the Democratic party.

"Let’s provide free medicine and care from the magic bag of money that Nobama has at his disposal," Robert writes. "Let’s tax the shirts off the folks who make more than $35,000 a year. Let’s continue to do everything we can to make this the United Socialist States of America, amd let us welcome Hugo Chavez and his ilk to the USSA with open, democrat arms. Buncha idiots."

Our friend named "non-partisan" is able to bring a more balanced approach to the argument stating that those on the right and the left are equal in their mental capacities.

"You’re all idiots," Non-partisan relates.  "If you think McCain is the same as Bush, you’re an idiot. If you think Obama is some great ‘bringer-of-change’… you’re also an idiot. If you honestly think that this election has ANY bearing on how the actual course of this nation’s politics go, well frankly, you’re an idiot."

Redneck4Obama says enough of the poll stories - that is, until he gets polled.

"I wasn’t polled, why didn’t I get polled?" he questions.  "Where the **** do you get polled at? There’s not even a polling survey next to the news article. Who does these polls? I didn’t even get an unbiased phone poll call. Who/What/Where/ When/Why and how can I get polled?

No, we need more polls.  In fact, one of our readers - Tallman - conducted his own survey.  A survey on those who leave comments.

"I’ve just done a truly scientific study of the current comments to this article and reached the conclusion that right-wingers are bad posters," he concludes.  "Sixty-seven percent of conservative posts included phonetic spellings for common words; 93% included incorrect punctuation; 87% used faulty logic (the remaining 13% included no logic at all); 56% violated basic rules of syntax (probably because they espouse the elimination of all taxes). It is not clear if these results are due to thought-action dissociation, i.e., brain-finger disconnect, poor education at home-schools, being the spawn of siblings or an attempt to mimic their standard bearer McCain in computer illiteracy. My colleagues and I plan followup studies as the campaign continues. Stay tuned."
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