WaPo 5 Myths Piece a Myth

In a piece on the Washington Post aimed at dispelling (although pathetically) so-called myths post election Chris Cillizza had this as important as the second

A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory.
Afraid not. Heading into Election Day, cable news, newspapers and blogs were dominated by excited chatter about record levels of enthusiasm for Obama among two critical groups: African Americans and young voters (aged 18-29). It made sense: Black voters were energized to cast a historic vote for the first African American nominee of either major party; young people -- following a false start with former Vermont governor Howard Dean in 2004 -- had bought into Obama in a major way during the primary season, and they finally seemed on the cusp of realizing their much-promised potential as a powerhouse voting bloc.

Or not. Exit polling suggests that there was no statistically significant increase in voting among either group. Black voters made up 11 percent of the electorate in 2004 and 13 percent in 2008, while young voters comprised 17 percent of all voters in 2004 and 18 percent four years later.
The surge in young and African American voters is not entirely the stuff of myth, however. Although their percentages as a portion of the electorate didn't increase measurably, Obama did seven points better among black voters than Sen. John F. Kerry did in 2004 and scored a 13-point improvement over Kerry's total among young voters.

Well... someone didn't get the memo.... Chris Cillizza, according to the by line at the close of the piece covers the white house. Can I please request of the Washington Post that reporters who are supposed to cover stuff like the White House be well informed before they write pieces in the freaking Washington Post? I don't think this is too much to ask, do you?

For the record: Using Dean in 2004 as a way of dispelling the Obama youth vote is pathetic. Seriously? Come on... seriously?

Secondly, he uses exit polling. Even Paul Begala on election day said he didn't go to the briefing on the exit polls because everyone knows that exit polls are crap. And final numbers are available, so why is it that Mr. Cillizza couldn't find his way to some ACTUAL numbers rather than cherry picking exit polls?

His last point makes me think he needs to get his money back from whatever institution of higher learning gave him his degree. The facts are that Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and god knows how many other states would not have gone for Obama had it not been for the African American and/or youth communities.

Even James Carville said Indiana and NC were attributed to the youth vote. Similarly, Obama wouldn't have won Iowa without the youth vote, so in a way he might not even have been a candidate had he not won Iowa...

Belittling the youth vote is one thing, calling it a myth based on data that is crated by the Green Fairy is just sloppy journalism. BAD JOURNALIST! No Cookie!

Email Mr. Cillizza here chris.cillizza@washingtonpost.com asking him WTF?