This morning, I downloaded the pdf of the January 12 CNN poll results that's available at TPM Election Central (you can download the pdf yourself here) and I was astounded - CNN has excluded John Edwards from their polling!

Edwards came in second in Iowa, yet Republican candidates who haven't registered more than a blip in the two contests we've had so far were included in the CNN poll. Just what are the criteria for inclusion? I can't think of any that would justify this oversight.

I don't want the media to make my decisions for me, which they've been doing ever since the contest started, when they first crowned Hillary as "inevitable," and then said Obama was "unbeatable." There are still three viable Democratic candidates in this race - there are 48 states to go - and CNN is doing a disservice to our democracy by refusing to consider one of them. Let me state it more strongly: this is undemocratic!

The latest National Head-to-Head Polls (you can view them here, at Real Clear Politics) that included Edwards (as of 12/14/07) showed him doing the best of all the Democratic candidates against every one of the Republicans. This is an important criterion that many Dem voters may wish to consider in making their decision. Note that in the most recent match up polling against McCain (1/10/08), Hillary loses and Obama barely squeeks by with less than a third of a percentage point. But in the earlier polls, Edwards beat McCain from 4% (Zogby) to 8% (CNN). Would Edwards have continued to do better against the Republicans if he had been included in the most recent polling? We'll never know because of the CNN decision.

No matter which candidate one may support, anyone concerned about our democracy must realize that for CNN to simply count one candidate out at this early stage of the primary season is completely unacceptable. It shouldn't be CNN effectively making the decisions for the voters.

If you want to write CNN: CNN@cnn.com