Campaign Coverage
I take issue with your biased coverage of the presidential debates, specifically the lack of coverage given to independent Ross Perot. Perot has been relegated to the back pages while Bill Clinton and President Bush sit comfortably in the headlines. A much greater percentage of subscribers read the headlines and the first few paragraphs than those who read the whole article and turn to the inside pages.
The Oct. 20 front page is a case in point. The day after the last and most volatile of the debates, the headlines declared “Clinton Vows to Rebuild U.S.; Bush Warns of ‘Misery Index.’ ” Perot is briefly mentioned at the start of the article, and then he disappears, only to resurface in Paragraph 11, buried inside.
Never mind the fact that The Times, in its own poll, found Perot the winner of the debate in a survey of undecided voters. Never mind the fact that the ABC poll had Perot surging 8 points after the debate to a healthy 19% share. This is also buried.
You would think that when a candidate gains 8 points overnight that the news would be worthy of the front page. You can be damn sure if Clinton or Bush gained 8 points the headlines would be screaming!
No vote is a wasted vote. I believe Perot has every bit as much chance as Harry Truman did. ROB RABAN
Huntington Beach
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