Why didn't everyone support Newt Gingrich's plan to cut funding for National Public Radio? The major political piece on Morning Edition was a discussion of oil drilling in offshore protected areas. NPR told listeners that the Democrats are on the defensive because polls show that the public overwhelmingly supports it. Is that so? Does the public think it's good to just drill for fun? Does the public want to drill in the basement of the White House? In Arlington Cemetery? The public wants to drill in offshore protected areas because they think it will lower the price of gas. The public believes that drilling will lower the price of gas because the Republicans told them that drilling will lower the price of gas and the media has not corrected this lie. Instead of telling the public that drilling in offshore protected areas will have no impact whatsoever on the price of gas for the next decade and that the eventual impact in 15-20 years will only be around 3-4 cents a gallon, NPR told listeners that polls show that voters favor drilling.
--Dean Baker
