Shame on you. And you, and you and you. It's your fault that the press is thought to be biased, and your fault that you refuse to cooperate with what opinion polls say you should do.

Roy Peter Clark, a famous journalism writing coach at the Poynter Institute, posted a column Jan. 30 titled "The Public Bias against the Press" It said bias in the press was largely in the eye of the beholder. Outside forces, including celebrity coverage and the rants of talk show hosts, Clark said, have created a situation where the "public bias against the press is a more serious problem for American democracy than the bias (real or perceived) of the press itself."

And that's not the only thing you're blamed for. What about that New Hampshire Democratic primary? The polls pointed to a strong win by Barack Obama. But when the votes were counted, Hillary Clinton had won a decisive victory. John Zogby a leading pollster, was asked in a recent radio interview who was to blame for the bad predictions. With no hesitation, he responded: "The voters." It was just too hard, he said, for the pollsters to keep up with the public's fickleness.

So there you have it: Two strikes against you in this most serious stage of the democratic process in America.

P.S. For a critique of Clark's premise, check out this column by Mitch Pugh, editor of the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, who senses some "ivory tower arrogance" at work. While agreeing (as I do) that a drumbeat of allegations of bias against the press colors citizens' view of the media, Pugh makes the point that the press should clean up its own shortcomings before shifting all the blame to the public.

 P.P.S. As for Zogby, his poll with Reuters and CSpan before the California primary last Tuesday showed Mitt Romney leading John McCain by 7 points, 40 to 33. In the voting, McCain beat Romney by an almost identical margin, 42 to 34.

Oh people, there you go again.