[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 14, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           NEW YORK TIMES WEIGHTS POLL IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRATS

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                            HON. LAMAR SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 2009

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Madam Speaker, the New York Times reported 
recently that President Obama has ``considerable political strength.''
  The Times' based this statement on its own poll, which found the 
President has an approval rating of 56 percent--a higher number than 
any other poll has found recently.
  One reason for this might be that the Times weighted the poll in 
favor of Democrats.
  Among those who actually responded to the poll, there were more 
Democrats than Republicans by 6 percentage points.
  But when the Times finished computing the results, they had increased 
the gap to an unreasonable and inexplicable 15 percentage points.
  With so many more Democrats in the sample, it should come as no 
surprise that the President's approval rating is a higher than other 
polls have found.
  The Times would do well to show more balance in their polling--and 
their reporting.

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