CBS omitted Herman Cain’s performance in a new Iowa poll of GOP presidential contenders despite his third place finish.
On Sunday’s “Face the Nation,” moderator Bob Schieffer correctly said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann finished first and second in the poll. But then he passed over Cain, incorrectly saying Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich polled next after the two front-runners.
(Herman Cain bashes Mitt Romney for playing ‘political games’ with Daily Caller/ATR/YouTube debate)
Here’s the transcript of Schieffer discussing the poll with Bachmann, a guest on his show.
“Iowans awoke to the news this morning that you and Mitt Romney are the big favorites among Iowa caucus goers. Iowa, of course, is the first contest for the Republican nomination. The polls shows that Romney has 23 percent, you have 22 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. That means the two of you are statistically tied. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are next with 7 percent. Here’s the big surprise, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has put in a lot of time and effort out there is behind even Gingrich.”
Actually, next in the poll was Herman Cain at 10 percent. Cain, who has never held elective office before, is the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza.
Here are the Des Moines Register poll results — its first of the election season:
Mitt Romney: 23 percent
Michele Bachmann: 22 percent.
Herman Cain: 10 percent.
Newt Gingrich: 7 percent
Ron Paul: 7 percent
Tim Pawlenty: 6 percent
Rick Santorum: 4 percent
Jon Huntsman: 2 percent
UPDATE: CBS calls it an accident and apologizes:
“In this morning’s Face the Nation, we inadvertently omitted Herman Cain’s third place finish in the Des Moines Register Poll,” said CBS spokeswoman Elizabeth Wasden in a statement to The Daily Caller. “We apologize for the error.”