The group also rehashed the demise of former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean's campaign. Washington Post reporter Dan Balz said Dean overestimated the effect his supporters would have on influencing voters. Dean was originally a front-runner in the race but ultimately failed to win a single primary or caucus during his campaign.
"In Iowa, a campaign staffer walked me through the most elaborate get-out-the-vote campaign I had ever heard," Balz said. "I left convinced that he had almost everything he needed, until I realized that they were working on the theory that people from outside the state could rally veterans of the process within the state."
Although Dean had many college-age supporters, his attempts to mobilize youth voters did not translate into primary wins, Maer said.
After Kalb bluntly asked, "Did you in any way blow it?" the group agreed that the media erred in proclaiming Dean as the probable winner of the nomination
"We sensed there were problems (with Dean's campaign) but we kept saying 'it was just a caucus, not a primary,' Page said. "We didn't believe what we saw with our own eyes."
Fournier said this mistake occurred because the media gave credit to early polls, but that many voters did not make up their mind about who to vote for until just before election day.
"Dean performed at his worst when he needed to be at his best," said Fournier, who added that he anticipates a similar situation in the presidential election.
"My guess is that 10 percent of the population will wait until that last weekend to decide," he said.
This year, CBS and others news organizations are using more restraint when reporting election results, Maer said. In the 2000 presidential election, news agencies reported Democratic candidate Al Gore victorious in Florida but then retracted their announcements and decided that the election was too close to judge.
"We were careful on each primary night," Maer said. "We held back on some election results to make sure it didn't happen again."
"In Iowa, a campaign staffer walked me through the most elaborate get-out-the-vote campaign I had ever heard," Balz said. "I left convinced that he had almost everything he needed, until I realized that they were working on the theory that people from outside the state could rally veterans of the process within the state."
Although Dean had many college-age supporters, his attempts to mobilize youth voters did not translate into primary wins, Maer said.
After Kalb bluntly asked, "Did you in any way blow it?" the group agreed that the media erred in proclaiming Dean as the probable winner of the nomination
"We sensed there were problems (with Dean's campaign) but we kept saying 'it was just a caucus, not a primary,' Page said. "We didn't believe what we saw with our own eyes."
Fournier said this mistake occurred because the media gave credit to early polls, but that many voters did not make up their mind about who to vote for until just before election day.
"Dean performed at his worst when he needed to be at his best," said Fournier, who added that he anticipates a similar situation in the presidential election.
"My guess is that 10 percent of the population will wait until that last weekend to decide," he said.
This year, CBS and others news organizations are using more restraint when reporting election results, Maer said. In the 2000 presidential election, news agencies reported Democratic candidate Al Gore victorious in Florida but then retracted their announcements and decided that the election was too close to judge.
"We were careful on each primary night," Maer said. "We held back on some election results to make sure it didn't happen again."
