More Spin From Katie Couric and CBS News

Washington, DC (TLS). CBS News has a long history of Leftist spin on its news stories, dating all the way back to Walter Cronkite's days as anchor. The bias only got worse with Dan Rather.

Now, Katie Couric and company have taken the news division at CBS to a new low in Leftist slant. Monday night's broadcast is a perfect case in point.

Couric introduced a story concerning the upcoming attempt of Congressional Democrats to pass a non-binding resolution against President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq in order to stabilize the country. After a brief description of the Democrats' plan, she stated, 'The American people seem to want the Democrats to do much more than just a non-binding resolution.

'Our latest poll,' Couric continued, 'shows that 53% of Americans want the Democrats either to cut off funding for the war altogether, or refuse funding for the troop surge.'

However, the graphic she placed on the screen painted an entirely different picture when one considers the whole story and not just the spin. According to the poll graphic, 45% of those polled want Congress to refuse to fund the troop surge. 8% want Congress to withdraw funding from the War altogether.

Obviously, when the 45% is added to the 8%, you get a 53% 'majority' who either desire a withdrawal of funds from our troops on the ground in Iraq, or a blocking of funding for the upcoming troop surge.

This carefully calculated slight-of-hand gives the appearance of widespread public support for de-funding the War in Iraq. However, let's turn this around and use the same tactic Couric and CBS News uses, except this time, let's apply it to the OTHER side.

For example, if 45% of those polled want Congress to refuse to fund the troop surge, then that means that 55% of those polled either want the surge fully funded or are not sure about it one way or the other. In like manner, if only 8% of those polled want Congress to de-fund the War altogether, then that means a whopping 92% of those polled wish for the funding of the War to continue.

Once again, using the Couric/CBS slight-of-hand formula, when 55% is added to 92%, that means that fully 147% of Americans support funding the troop surge AND funding the War in general.

147 percent.

Remember, I am using the very same formula and tactic that CBS used to arrive at their so-called 53% majority who either favor de-funding the entire War or blocking funding for the troop surge. And the number I get is that 147 percent of Americans support funding for the War AND the troop surge.

This scenario reminds me of what an accountant for a major healthcare organization told me several years ago. He said, 'Numbers can be manipulated to show whatever result administration and the trustees are looking for. It is amazing as to how figures can be manipulated to show differing results based solely upon how they are put together.'

Apparently this is the modus operandi at CBS News.

Frankly, if this is the manner in which the major polling organizations are arriving at their conclusion that the vast majority of Americans are resigned to failure and defeat in Iraq, then I question the accuracy of those polls. Polls can be made to say just about anything you want them to say, especially when you have spin-doctors at work such as we have at CBS News.