The Iowa caucus results weren't really "perfect" for McCain but the media's coverage of him has been

[NNN0LHI]

http://mediamatters.org/items/200801050002?f=h_top

John McCain's Iowa victory -- and his hundred years' war

In a guide to "post-caucus spin" posted Wednesday night, NBC News political director Chuck Todd wrote:

Nobody plays the "national press expectations game" better than {John} McCain. ... Anything north of 15 percent Thursday will get played up big by the media and lead to front-runner coverage once he sets foot in New Hampshire again. The only bad news for McCain right now is that there is an expectation that he could finish third. If he doesn't, then maybe many in the media will question whether the comeback is real or Memorex, circa 2000.

As if to prove his colleague correct, MSNBC's Chris Matthews predicted that same evening that McCain would win at least 18 percent of the vote in the Iowa Republican caucuses. Winning such a "high percentage" of the vote would make McCain "the big hero tomorrow night," according to Matthews. The next morning, Matthews repeated his prediction.

Todd also wrote that if Hillary Clinton found herself in a three-way tie, her campaign would have to "make sure the media doesn't somehow turn the tie into a '60-plus percent of Democrats rejected her' spin. ... {T}hey do have to worry about a certain segment of the press interpreting Clinton as the incumbent being rejected by majority margins." Matthews came through again, before the voting had even begun, and kept it up throughout MSNBC's caucus-night coverage.

You might wonder how Matthews could simultaneously argue that John McCain would be a big winner if he got 18 percent of the vote and that if Hillary Clinton finished with more than 30 percent, it would mean she had been "rejected here in Iowa by two-thirds of the Democratic Party." Well, it might have a little something to do with the fact that Matthews thinks McCain "deserves to be president," and has reportedly said of Hillary Clinton "I hate her. I hate her. All that she stands for." snip

The Politico's Mike Allen said on Fox News: "Tonight is a fantastic night for John McCain. ... He's one of the biggest winners of the night. He's now in a fantastic position. Except for Barack Obama, there's almost no one you'd rather be tonight than John McCain."

CNN's John King declared that "John McCain has the energy on the Republican side right now."

On MSNBC, Tom Brokaw insisted that "if you're handicapping all this, this is very good news for John McCain."

The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes on Fox News: "Does this help John McCain? It helps John McCain enormously. ... {T}his could not have been conceivably a better result for McCain, I don't think. ... {T}his is a perfect result for McCain."

[skipos]

1. Whoever thought 4th place would be so awesome? nt

As well as 3rd or 4th place in every other state besides NH.

[LostInAnomie]

2. The M$M has been absolutely fallacious for McCain since Iowa.

I think Chuck Todd said it best the day before the caucus when he said that the media were "willing a victory in Iowa for McCain". They are so ready for catapult him into the Repuke nominee spot that they are willing to count a 20+ pt. loss and coming in 4th behind Fred "The Walking Dead" Thompson as a win.

The fact that him saying we should be in Iraq for the next 100 years, and that he would have invaded even without the WMD hasn't been front page news shows that the media has a boner for him.

[BlueManDude]

3. If he wins NH by say 5 points can they spin that as a huge victory?

Remember NH has always had a crush on McCain and he beat W there by 19 points in 2000. The NH electorate is much more liberal than the voters he's likely to face down the line. If he can'y kick ass there he can't kick ass anywhere.