FishbowlNY's own unscientific poll showed that 66% of voters thought that the New York Times story hinting at an improper relationship between Senator John McCain and telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman irreparably damaged the Gray Lady's brand. The Annenberg Center, polling the general public, found similar results. Jill Zuckman blogs for The Baltimore Sun:

''A poll by the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Election Survey showed that two-thirds of the country's adults have heard about the article and twice as many people believe McCain's denunciation than believe the New York Times.''

'''...More Americans believed Sen. John McCain's explanation than believed the allegations reported in The New York Times story,' said Kate Kenski, a senior analyst for the survey and a professor of communication at the University of Arizona. 'Republicans were over nine times as likely to report believing Sen. McCain as believing the New York Times. Independents were about twice as likely to say that they believed Sen. McCain as report believing the allegations in the Times.'

''According to the study, the only groups likely to believe the newspaper were African Americans, Democrats and liberals. Conservative Republicans believed McCain by 65.5 percent compared to 6.3 percent who believed the newspaper.''

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