Harry Reid Credits Hispanics

By Richard Prince, Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

LAS VEGAS - Harry Reid said, "We've got to do something about these misleading polls that are all over the country."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who came from behind to retain his seat Tuesday, used a post-election question about his victory strategy as an opening to unleash an attack on the media,Jessica Yellin and Kevin Bohn reported on Wednesday for CNN's "Political Ticker" blog.

"We've got to do something about these misleading polls that are all over the country. They are so unfair, and you just gobble them up no matter where they come from. You just run with them like they are the finest pastry in the world. They're false and misleading, and people pay for those polls so you will use them," he said.

"A series of polls commissioned by media outlets in the last weeks showed his race against Tea Party-backed Republican Sharron Angle a dead heat or gave Angle a small advantage," the CNN story said.

" 'I told people for weeks I was comfortable with where I was with the polls. But every poll showed me losing, and I was comfortable,' he said.

"So how did Reid, with high negatives in the state with the largest unemployment, manage to pull out a five point decisive victory? In his press conference he touted the Hispanic turnout, which was about 17 percent — higher than anticipated. It appears the Angle campaign alienated some Latino voters by running ads that cast Hispanic looking people as lawbreakers and angered others with a gaffe in which the candidate said some students at a Hispanic high school 'look Asian.' "