ABC TV apparently reset its tally of who won the Republican debate it broadcast on August 5, Sunday morning. At 10 AM EST, Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex) was winning the debate with over 1,000 votes. Mitt Romney was next with 106. After the debate at approximately 11:10 AM EST when the tally was rechecked, ABC showed Ron Paul had just 445 votes. Second was “Nobody Won. I’m Voting Democratic.”
Of course, it could all be an innocent gliche, and perhaps ABC will explain these tallies or see fit to rectify them. But it has long been FMNN’s contention, along with others, that Ron Paul, an old fashioned Jeffersonian conservative, would serve as a metaphor and magnifying glass for America’s current political difficulties and expanding corruption.
The debate itself was apparently little promoted. In fact, ABC marketed the debate so shallowly that http://Drudgereport.com didn’t seem to carry a blurb about it on its front page, and neither did Google News.
To set the stage for the debate, ABC moderators began with polling numbers that showed Ron Paul at just two percent, yet the numbers on the ABC website, at 10 AM EST and again at the end of the debate (before the tally was reduced), showed him winning the debate, as he has before, by a wide margin.
A search of Internet sites revealed some confusion about the debates times and where it was airing. Posted one confused would-be viewer: "What a bizzare time to hold a debate and what a screwy format for a debate. It won’t air in my area until 11:00 am."
Ron Paul will likely win the online debate poll by large numbers in any case. But changing poll numbers always generates questions. ABC is said to have manipulated its comment boards before as regards Ron Paul. (Edited after posting.)
Update: http://DrudgeReport.com put up a post-debate poll that showed Ron Paul winning the debate by wide margins (with 45% of the vote) as of 12:30 PM EST. Ron Paul continued to pull away in the ABC TV poll as well, despite the apparent tampering.
