I just read in Politico a classic example of reportorial spin. The article purports to impart the essence or importance of new poll numbers concerning public reaction to the government "shutdown."
The author, one Tal Kopan, reports that 39% blame the GOP, 19% blame the Dems, and 36% blame both parties equally. Let's assume those are the actual numbers the poll found - a safe assumption, I believe.
The issue is what those numbers "mean," how they should be interpreted. Kopan goes directly to "GOP loses," because more blame them.
Another equally accurate interpretation is the following: 55% disagree that the fault is the GOP's alone. Fifty-five percent believe it is either the Dems' fault or the blame is equally shared.
Politico's headline: "Polls: Shutdown Nightmare for GOP." An equally valid alternate headline would be "Efforts to Persuade Most Americans to Blame the Govt. Shutdown on GOP Fail."
