1115.org

You can call it the MSNBC new math, or you can call it making it up as you go along.

Andrea Mitchell on Hardball Monday evening:

I think they are going to try to really tamp this down, and appeal to the polling, which indicates that most people think, in fact, that he should be pardoned - Scooter Libby should be pardoned.

A CNN poll on Monday evening:

Nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose a presidential pardon for former White House aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby after his conviction on perjury and other charges related to a CIA agent’s exposure, according to a CNN poll out Monday.

Just 18 percent said they would support a pardon for Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, while 69 percent said they opposed the idea. Meanwhile, a narrow majority said they believe Cheney was part of a cover-up in the case.

It’s possible that Mitchell didn’t know the results of the CNN poll when she offered her expert opinion, so let’s not rush to accuse her of thinking that when you have 18 ayes and 69 nays, the ayes take it.

But that leaves her with the uncomfortable task of explaining what her numbers were, and where she pulled them out of.

(Note to self: Switch to news reporting before the year is out. Looks a lot easier than blogging.)