Political science types have always told us that the "iron triangle" is congressional committees, corporations, and lobbyists. Today it's polls, the media, and bias.

Bush's approval rating slid 6 points from 35 percent in April, NBC said...

The latest poll also found Americans growing more discontented with the Democratic-led Congress, with 64 percent disapproving of Congress' job performance. Only 23 percent approved, down 8 points since April.

The headline there then, of course is:

Bush job rating hits record low in NBC/WSJ poll

Reuters saw fit to put the stat about Bush in paragraph two, the stat about Congress in paragraph five.

The story of course is that Americans seem discontented with the government in general for a number of reasons. The secondary story is that the recently elected Congress's approval rating is still much lower than the unpopular president's, and is declining more steeply.

But Reuters, which is in a pitched battle with Associated Press for the left-bias award, sees a different story and makes sure that's what the headline-skimmer (i.e., most readers) sees.