Death Penalty and Numbers Games

USA Today has an interesting story on its front page about Americans' attitudes toward the death penalty.

Unfortunately, the most interesting thing about the story is that it tells you a lot more about the newspaper's attitude toward the death penalty than it does the country's.

The headline is the first tipoff. "Poll: 35% oppose the death penalty."

(It could just as easily have said "Poll: 65% favor the death penalty.")

The lead is the second clue: "More than one-third of Americans now oppose the death penalty ..."

(Again, how about: "Almost two-thirds of Americans support the death penalty ...")

The article then goes on to quote two national death penalty opponents -- including the head of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. (Subtlety is not the paper's forte.) There are no death penalty supporters quoted.

With Gov. Rick Scott just signing his second death warrant and the issue being raised again in the Legislature (see my colleague Jim Turner's related blog), the article is a good reminder of what the mainstream press wants you to think, and how stupid it thinks you are.

The poll itself, by Gallup, is fairly interesting.

See it here: http://www.gallup.com/poll/1606/death-penalty.aspx