Rocky uncritically reported Wadhams' claims about Obama's candidacy versus McCain's

Summary: In an article about Michelle Obama's planned Colorado campaign stop, the Rocky Mountain News reported, without providing any factual context, Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams' statements that he believes Sen. John McCain's candidacy "is far more representative of what women voters want" and that Sen. Barack Obama "supports higher taxes on the middle class." In fact, a variety of recent national polls show women favor Obama over McCain, and Obama has proposed raising taxes only on "people who are making 250,000 dollars a year or more."

Reporting on a planned Colorado campaign appearance by Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama, a July 16 Rocky Mountain News article uncritically reported Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams' statement that he believes Sen. "John McCain's candidacy is far more representative of what women voters want," without noting that several national polls show Obama holding a significant lead over McCain among female voters.

The News also published Wadhams' assertion that Obama "supports higher taxes on the middle class," but provided no information about Obama's actual tax proposals. In fact, Obama has proposed raising taxes only on "people who are making 250,000 dollars a year or more" and cutting taxes for middle-income families. Further, as Colorado Media Matters has pointed out, an analysis of the candidates' tax plans by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center found that "Senator McCain's tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes," while "Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers."

The News article by David Montero reported, "Michelle Obama today makes her first stop in Colorado since her husband became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president -- taking part in a $1,000-a-person fundraiser." The article continued:

The trip is also designed to highlight issues important to women, and the campaign is hoping her visit will strike a chord with them. Oh, and maybe a few of those who backed Sen. Hillary Clinton in her historic campaign might take a look at Obama's platform on women's issues.

[...]

Dick Wadhams, Colorado Republican Party chairman, said Obama's policies are out of touch with the needs of women.

"I think John McCain's candidacy is far more representative of what women voters want and what all voters want," Wadhams said. "There is nothing pro-woman about a candidate who supports higher taxes on the middle class."

In quoting Wadhams' unsubstantiated statement that "McCain's candidacy is far more representative of "what women voters want," the News failed to note national polls taken in June and July that show Obama leading McCain among female voters by 6 percentage points or more. For example, in a Newsweek poll conducted July 9-10, and released July 11 by the magazine, female voters favored Obama over McCain 45 percent to 39 percent. Similarly, an ABC News/Washington Post poll conducted July 10-13 showed Obama "leads by 15 points among women (54 percent to 39 percent)," the Post reported on July 16. The poll had a margin for error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Those polls reported a similar trend widely reflected by other national surveys showing Obama leading McCain among women:

• A July 7-14 CBS News/New York Times poll found Obama leading McCain among female registered voters by 46 percent to 37 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
• A Quinnipiac University National Poll conducted July 8-13 found that among likely voters, "women support [Obama] 55-36 percent," with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
• A June 19-23 Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll showed Obama ahead of McCain among female voters by 54 percent to 29 percent. The margin of error for all voters was plus or minus 3 percentage points; but the poll noted that "[f]or smaller subgroups the sampling error may be somewhat higher."
• A Reuters/Zogby poll of likely voters, conducted June 12-June 14, reported Obama leading 51 percent to 36 percent among women; it had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

• A June 12-15 ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 58 percent of voters trusted Obama more than McCain "to handle ... [i]ssues of special concern to women." According to the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, 26 percent trusted McCain over Obama on women's issues.
• According to a June 6-9 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of registered voters, women favored Obama over McCain 52 percent to 33 percent. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
• A June 5-9 Gallup poll showed women supporting Obama over McCain 51 percent to 38 percent, respectively.

Furthermore, the News did not report any background relevant to Wadhams' unsubstantiated claim that Obama "supports higher taxes on the middle class." In addition to the statements Obama has issued about his tax proposals, according to Obama's Tax Fairness Plan, he "will provide $80-85 billion in tax relief to America's workers, seniors, and homeowners." Obama's proposed tax cuts include "a new 'Making Work Pay' tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family"; "a new universal mortgage credit" that "will provide the average recipient with approximately $500 per year in tax savings," and the "eliminat[ion]" of "all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year."

According to the TPC analysis, under Obama's tax proposals, tax filers in the middle quintile -- those earning $37,595 to $66,353 annually -- would receive an average tax cut of $1,042 in 2009 and an average tax cut of $2,136 in 2012. TPC further noted that those figures represent "an average cut equal to 2.4 percent of income" in 2009 and "an average tax cut equal to 4.6 percent of income" in 2012. From the Tax Policy Center analysis:

—C.H.