Reply #13: Media Matters after Norah for that interview. Video, partial transcript

[madfloridian]

Every interview got hung up pumping him on tax cuts. Ridiculous how they used the talking points of the GOP. He did a good job responding.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200611070002

"MSNBC's O'Donnell cherry-picked polls that favor GOP
Summary: During an interview with Howard Dean, Norah O'Donnell selectively cited polls to suggest that the Democratic advantage in the generic congressional ballot has been considerably reduced. However, several other recent polls show Democrats with leads in excess of 15 percentage points.

During an interview with Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean on the November 6 edition of MSNBC's Decision 2006: Battleground America, host Norah O'Donnell cherry-picked polls suggesting that the Democratic advantage in the generic ballot has been considerably reduced, while ignoring polls showing a much larger Democratic advantage. O'Donnell questioned Dean about what she described as "the latest poll numbers," including a Pew Research Center poll that showed Democrats with a four-point advantage. An onscreen graphic also showed a Washington Post/ABC News poll, which found Democrats with a six-point advantage, and a USA Today/Gallup poll, which showed Democrats with a seven-point generic-ballot advantage. However, as Media Matters for America has noted, there are several other recent polls that show Democrats with leads in excess of 15 percentage points, including those from Time, CNN, and even MSNBC news partner Newsweek. Dean responded to O'Donnell by noting the CNN poll, which shows Democrats with a 20-point advantage, and claimed that "there's half a dozen polls out."

Later in the interview, O'Donnell asked that Dean "guarantee to me today that the Democrats will not move to increase personal income taxes across the board." In response, Dean said: "I will guarantee you that we will not raise personal income taxes across the board." O'Donnell then said that she would "save this tape for what happens just in case," further suggesting that Dean and Democrats could not be taken at their word."