In White House Vs. Fox News War Of Words, Who Gets Your Vote?

Update at 11:45 a.m. ET, March 26, 2010:

This has been a great "talker", but it's time to close the poll and the discussion -- for a couple reasons.

One -- The White House and Fox News seem to have ratcheted things down considerably. As we wrote last week, the president was on the network's Special Report with Bret Baier and had a lively exchange with the host. He's also talked with Fox's Major Garrett.

Two -- I can't imagine anything that anyone with an opinion about this subject has to say that hasn't been said already; and the comments thread has gotten so large that it's basically impossible to get through.

We welcome all opinions, as this post has clearly shown. I'm confident there will be many other things here at The Two-Way that will spark strong responses. Feel free to join the discussions.

The question below will "close" at 5 p.m. ET today.

- Mark

Our original post:

The stories about what the Obama White House has to say about Fox News Channel keep coming.

There was White House communications director saying telling Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post and CNN "let's not pretend they're a news network the way CNN is."

Also last week it was NPR's David Folkenflik reporting that "the White House is taking direct aim at Fox News, the news organization that is the home to the most potent collection of its conservative critics."

This week it's ABC News' Jake Tapper asking why the Obama team was treating one of the "sister organizations" so badly -- and the news that the White House had tried to block a Fox News reporter from interviewing the so-called pay czar. (After all the networks objected, the White House relented.)

It seems like time for a survey:

Update at 8:50 a.m. ET, Nov. 2: Another update on the response to this post.

As you can see, there are now more than 1.1 million votes on the survey and 2,100 comments with this post.

We've also received several hundred e-mails. Here's a representative sample:

-- Chuck Parker: "Conservatives should be allowed to have one Network on their side, that being FOX since the libs have ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC acting as unpaid mouth pieces for Obama."

-- Wendy Glenn: " WE LOVE FOX. They tell it like it is and we make up our mind. It is a REAL news station. From loyal patriotic Arizona Ranchers!"

-- Paul Ingram: "NPR should be more objective instead of being a mouthpiece for the Obama administration, What a great opportunity you have of education and spreading truth to the population , taking neither side in any political dispute. Just the unvarnished facts."

-- Lyn Underdahl: "Fox News provides the opportunity for its listeners to be informed about all the issues. President Obama wants it 'His way or the highway'. Fox News has taken in on the 'high way' by encouraging Americans to get involved in what is being said, what is happening and those in charge who dictate what will become law. The talent of the News staff @ Fox is very credible. Hats off to all of you at Fox News! You make a difference in our World. Thank you for caring about about your listeners."

Many e-mailers wanted to make sure we knew that there had been an online effort, fueled by e-mail chains and blogs, among Fox News fans to "win" the poll. John Plotkin said he had received an e-mail from conservative "friends," urging that he vote in the survey. "If you think your poll results are accurate, think again," Plotkin added.

As I noted on Saturday, this isn't a scientific survey. It's an online poll that successfully got folks talking about a very interesting story.

Thanks again to all those who've taken part. We hope to keep hearing from you.

Update at 7 a.m., Oct. 31: I would like to say thanks to all those who were inspired to vote. As Raw Story explains, the poll touched off a competition. That's a good thing, in my opinion. These kinds of surveys aren't meant to be scientific. They're intended to stimulate discussion and give folks another way to express themselves. We certainly accomplished that.

Now, can I make a small request? Perhaps some who came here to vote and comment could come back on occasion and contribute again to the discussions? We value your input.

Thanks again,

- Mark