The Washington Times reports on a study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs that pretty much confirms what anyone paying attention to more than five minutes of news coverage could tell you.

The networks are decidedly anti-Bush.

More than two-thirds of the news stories on ABC, NBC and CBS covering the first 100 days of Mr. Bush’s second term were negative, according to an analysis released today by the District-based Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA).

It’s actually a slight improvement: During the first 100 days of his initial term in office, the coverage was 71 percent negative, according to a similar CMPA study conducted in 2001.

In comparison, President Clinton’s first-term news coverage was 59 percent negative in 1993.

The three networks also seem to be boycotting Mr. Bush this time around. He rated 619 stories during the study period in 2001– but just 250 stories this year, the study found.

…

ABC was the most critical — 78 percent of the coverage of the president on “ABC World News Tonight” was negative. On CBS, the coverage was 71 percent negative. The study called NBC “more balanced” at 57 percent negative.

…

The three networks also had pet targets. Seventy-eight percent of stories about Mr. Bush’s Social Security reforms were negative, along with 77 percent of stories on his domestic policy and 71 percent of stories on Iraq policy.

…

The press “battered” the president during the 2004 election season, according to a Project for Excellence in Journalism analysis of 817 print and broadcast stories that ran in October.

Mr. Bush “suffered strikingly more negative press coverage than challenger John Kerry,” the study stated. “Overall, 59 percent of Bush-dominated stories were clearly negative in nature,” while “just 25 percent of Kerry stories were decidedly negative.”

Liberal responses (Choose all that apply):

“That demonstrates nothing.”

“Bush is a liar anyway.”

“There’s nothing positive that can be said about him, that’s why.”

“The bias goes both ways. Forget CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, NY Times, LA Times, and so on and so forth and the fact that they account for a large segment of the american population in viewership and readership! FOX NEWS and the Washington Times are BIASED!”

Clearly demonstrating of their bias is the study they mention in the last paragraph I quoted. John Kerry was so damned good and had such a great record that he had half the negative stories as the president? In 20 years in the senate?

Oh sure. No bias there.

No amount of evidence that the media is biased against Bush will ever be enough for liberals in this country.