Betts on Deluca

In an otherwise interesting column today about North Carolina's US Senate race, Jack Betts writes:

But Francis De Luca of the Civitas Institute, more aligned with Republicans, noted recently that his polls show Burr consistently maintaining a lead "outside the margin of error against any of the announced candidates."

More aligned with Republicans? All I can think of it that Mr. Betts is auditioning for top billing on Dancing With The Understatement. Of course, careful observers know what's really going on. With McClatchy in its death spiral and the influence of Art Pope's Puppetshow at an all time high, this is what passes for "fair and balanced" in editorial writing today.

Having discounted Public Policy Polling as a "Democratic" firm, Mr. Betts wanted to even out the equation in the minds of readers by making an apples-to-apples comparison between PPP and Civitas. Never mind that it's more like comparing a hard-working border collie with a rabid werewolf, the illusion is complete. Civitas gains false legitimacy as an ethical player, the Charlotte Observer burns another barrel of ink, and the Puppetmaster marks off one more box on his agenda-setting checklist.