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Gingrich falsely touted GOP governors of Utah and Indiana for "lowest unemployment rates in their respective regions"

During the November 16 broadcast of CBS' Face the Nation, former House Speaker and Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich said that Republicans "who are about to face this question of, how do you get the economy growing again" should ask Republican governors Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Jon Huntsman of Utah, "[H]ow did they get to the lowest unemployment rate in their respective regions?" However, the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics records show that Gingrich's claim is false. In fact, neither Utah nor Indiana has the lowest unemployment rate in its region, and several states with lower unemployment rates are governed by Democrats. In Utah -- defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the Western Region -- the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent in September, higher than that of Wyoming, which had an unemployment rate of 3.3 percent under Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal. Indiana -- defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as part of the Midwest Region -- had an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent in September, ranking eighth out of 12 Midwestern states. Iowa (4.2 percent), Kansas (4.8 percent), Minnesota (5.9 percent), Nebraska (3.5 percent), North Dakota (3.6 percent), South Dakota (3.2 percent), and Wisconsin (5 percent) all posted lower unemployment rates than Indiana's in September. Three of those states -- Iowa, Kansas, and Wisconsin -- have Democratic governors. From the November 16 edition of CBS' Face the Nation: LOUISIANA GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R): Oh, well, sure, no -- I think it's great that Sarah Palin is speaking out. I think it's great that the governors that the speaker mentioned were -- are speaking out. I think the future -- I think the governors are gonna play a great role. And I think that, you know, our folks in Washington are gonna have important work to do, but I don't think all the answers and wisdom are gonna be in Washington, D.C. So, I think it's a great thing that she's speaking out. I think we're - BOB SCHIEFFER (host): How do you feel about that -- JINDAL: -- going to need multiple governors. SCHIEFFER: How do you feel about that, Mr. Gingrich? GINGRICH: I mean, first of all, Governor Palin is a real asset to the Republican Party. She brought enormous energy to the party. She attracted very large crowds. But I would say, for example, to the Republicans who are about to face this question of, how do you get the economy growing again? Bring in Governor [Mitch] Daniels [R-IN] and bring in Governor [Jon] Huntsman [R-UT], and ask them, you know, how did they get to the lowest unemployment rate in their respective regions? Go back to a principled approach. If you don't understand health care, you can do a lot worse than to bring in Bobby Jindal who, maybe, may well know more about health policy than any other elected official in America and is doing an extraordinary job in Louisiana. If you want to look at education reform, you can look at Governor [Sonny] Perdue in Georgia, you can look at Governor Haley Barbour in Mississippi. There are a lot of people doing smart things. The natural pattern in the news media is gonna be they know how to spell Sarah Palin's name. They've got it locked in their word processor. She's gonna be a much bigger story in the short run. But, I think, as she goes back to being governor, and as she works in Alaska, you're gonna see a group of governors emerge -- not just Sarah Palin. And there are 36 governorships up in 2010. And I think focusing on rebuilding the Republican Party from state legislature and governor to Senate and House is the right model. And I think that the Republican Governors Association is probably more important than the Republican National Committee in trying to get this done. SCHIEFFER: So, you do not see her as the de facto leader of the party at this point? GINGRICH: No, she's a wonderfully intelligent, aggressive, hard-working person who got, you know, hammered very badly by the press.

Lawmaker Plans Bill on Web Neutrality

A renewed battle over network neutrality could be on the horizon, as a senior U.S. lawmaker plans to introduce a bill in January that would bar Internet providers from blocking Web content. - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. lawmaker plans to introduce a bill in January that would bar Internet providers like AT amp;T Inc. from blocking Web content, setting up a renewed battle over so-called network neutrality. Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, believes a law is essent...

Fox News aired graphics featuring inaccurate poll-closing times

During their Election Day coverage, Fox News repeatedly aired graphics that purported to show "POLL CLOSINGS" in Eastern Standard Time for each state. But in states that cross time zones, the times listed in the graphics reflected the western-most time zone in the state, in which polls close an hour later than the rest of the state. Thus, people watching Fox News in the eastern portion of some states could be left with the impression that local polls would be open for an hour after they actually close. For example, according to the Florida Department of State's "2008 Voter Registration and Voting Guide," "Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. local time." Since Florida is split between the Eastern and Central time zones, polls close at 7 p.m. ET in some parts of the state and at 8 p.m. ET in other parts, not at 8 p.m. ET throughout the state, as the Fox News graphic indicated. Likewise, according to the Michigan Secretary of State, polls in the state are "open from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.," but since the state is in two time zones, the majority of the state polls close at 8 p.m. ET, and the remainder close at 9 p.m. ET. But the Fox News graphic suggested that all polls in the state close at 9 p.m. ET. Other states in multiple time zones include Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Texas. According to Fox News' graphic, "POLL CLOSINGS" at 8 p.m. ET include Florida:

MSNBC continually airs graphic featuring inaccurate poll closing times for multiple states

During MSNBC Live's Election Day coverage, MSNBC continually aired graphics that purported to show "POLL CLOSING[]" times for each state. But in states that cross over time zones, the times listed in the graphics reflected the western-most time zone in the state, in which polls close an hour later than the rest of the state. Thus, people watching MSNBC in the eastern portion of some states could be left with the impression that local polls would be open for an hour after they actually close. For example, according to the Florida Department of State's "2008 Voter Registration and Voting Guide," "Polls will be open on election day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. local time." Since Florida is split between the Eastern and Central time zones, polls close at 7 p.m. ET in some parts of the state and at 8 p.m. ET in other parts, not at 8 p.m. ET throughout the state, as the MSNBC graphic indicated. Likewise, according to the Michigan Secretary of State, polls in the state are "open from 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m," but since the state is in two time zones, the majority of the state polls close at 8 p.m. ET, and the remainder close at 9 p.m. ET. But the MSNBC graphic suggested that all polls in the state close at 9 p.m. ET. Moreover, MSNBC aired the graphic even after NBC News political director Chuck Todd acknowledged the differences in poll closing times in Florida. During the noon ET hour of MSNBC Live, Todd said, "And a reminder, when you see that we have polls closing at 8 o'clock in Florida, that doesn't mean polls are open until 8 o'clock in the Eastern time zone of Florida. So if you're in South Florida or Central Florida, your polls close at 7. It's in the panhandle that they close in 8 Eastern." Later in the hour, Todd said: TODD: And a little guide to viewers. You see this ticker below talking about poll closing time. The time that you see is the last time that polls close in a state. There are a lot of states with split time zone, like Florida. We'll say that the polls close at 8 o'clock. Well, they close at 7 local. Eight o'clock in the Central time with Pensacola, but 7 p.m. Eastern in most of the rest of the state. That's the same with Indiana. It's 6 to 6, local. We encourage you, if you're confused about when your polls close, to go and check with your local polling officials, check your local polling places. They will obviously have the exact information you need. We want to tell our viewers when we'll start seeing vote counts, and that's why we have those final times up on our screen. So, if you need to know when your polls close, check with your local election official. Despite Todd's acknowledgment that the graphics were inaccurate and misleading, MSNBC continued to air them unaltered. Other states in multiple time zones include Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Texas. According to MSNBC's graphic, "POLL CLOSINGS" at 7:00 p.m. ET include Indiana and Kentucky.

Casting the Ballot in Elections Gone By

: Photo: John Vachon The American republic rests on the principle of one person and one vote. The voting booth is one of the most inviolable patches of American soil. Not that this ever prevented photographers from sticking their lenses inside polling places across the breadth of this great land, from seething city to bucolic township. As you cast your ballot today, consider those who have voted before you and contemplate the amazing continuum that has led us to this time and place. Left: Farmers of German and Russian stock, all Americans now, wait to vote in the 1940 presidential election at the Beaver Creek precinct in North Dakota's McIntosh County. North Dakota was one of 10 states to vote for Republican Wendell Willkie. The other 38 went for Franklin D. Roosevelt, carrying him in a landslide to his third term. : Vote early, vote often: Balloting Chicago style, circa 1904, with the man on the right casting his vote on a mechanical voting machine, despite an open curtain. Photo courtesy Chicago Daily News : This voting-machine "apparatus," in a Chicago voting booth, dates from 1904, Teddy Roosevelt's big year. Photo courtesy Chicago Daily News : Photo: John Vachon On Election Day 1940, in North Dakota's McIntosh County, farmers cast their ballots at this little schoolhouse on the prairie. : Photo: Marion Post In 1940, a Woodstock, Vermont, selectman casts his ballot on "the liquor question." ("Yes, I'll have another one.") : Photo: Lewis Walker FDR was elected to an unprecedented fourth term as president in 1944. Whether this fellow leaving a voting booth in Barnesville, Maryland, was a New Dealer or cast his ballot for the GOP's Thomas Dewey is impossible to say. Which is kind of the point, right? : Photo: Arthur Rothstein A black voter hands in his ballot in Dunklin County, Missouri, during a 1942 primary election. : Photo: Russell Lee Mormon farmers, part of a Farm Security Administration cooperative stallion group, meet in 1940 to elect a caretaker for their group. The FSA was formed as a part of FDR's New Deal to alleviate the effects of rural poverty. : Photo: Maria Ealand This firehouse in Arlington, Virginia, served as a polling place during the 1944 presidential election. : Photo: Arthur Rothstein A voter casts his ballot during a 1937 community election in Greenbelt, Maryland. : Photo: Courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Library First lady Eleanor Roosevelt votes in Hyde Park, New York. Who did she vote for? She's not saying. : Photo: Benjamin Brown French All that voting leads to inauguration day, in this case Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural in 1861. Note that the U.S. Capitol is still under construction. You can't see the war clouds gathering but they're very present, and getting darker by the minute.