CNN's Kagan ignored Republican skew in ABC poll

CNN host Daryn Kagan twice mentioned an ABC News poll, conducted after the vice presidential debate, that declared Vice President Cheney the winner by a margin of eight points. She did not, however, bring up the fact that the ABC poll was skewed in favor of Republicans by seven points, with Republican voters comprising 38 percent of the participants; Democrats and Independents comprised 31 percent and 27 percent of respondents, respectively.

From the October 6 edition of CNN Live Today:

KAGAN: Well, let's check in with you, the viewers. How did the vice president debate resonate with you? Depends on which survey you want to look at. An ABC News poll, conducted after the face-off, shows Dick Cheney the winner. According to a telephone survey of 509 registered voters, 43 percent said Cheney won, 35 percent gave the win to Edwards, 19 percent called it a tie.

A CBS poll of uncommitted voters showed just the opposite; of the 178 surveyed, 41 percent declared Edwards the winner, 28 percent chose Cheney, and 31 percent said it was a tie.

One hour later, Kagan brought up the ABC and CBS polls again, and she again failed to note that the poll was skewed:

KAGAN: Now to the debate over who won the debate. Vice President Cheney was the winner in a snap poll taken by ABC News in the survey of registered voters: 43 percent said Cheney did best, compared to 35 percent for Edwards.

A poll by CBS showed just the opposite. In a survey of uncommitted voters, 41 percent thought Edwards won the debate, compared to 28 percent for Cheney; 31 percent said it was a tie.