Bias Shining Through? Hotline Bumps News of Minor McCain Endorsement

I check the Hotline On Call several times a day. Generally, I find it to be really well done.

Something today raised eyebrows. I checked it around lunchtime to find this post atop the page about S.C. State Sen. Mike Fair endorsing McCain.

I revisit it later this afternoon, and the same post is dated 2:05 p.m., above a 2006 Congressional roundup and Mitt Romney adding national campaign staff.

Bloggers well know that if you're looking to aggressively promote a story, you bump it to the top of the page by changing the post time. That's what the Hotline seems to be doing with this McCain story. In their mind, one South Carolina endorsement for McCain outweighs national endorsements for Romney or news about the elections three weeks from today. As far as I know, Hotline has never bumped a story like this, not even a major one like Foley.

I think this is a small but significant sign that they have crossed the line from favorable analysis to cheerleading.

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