Whoops: Fox graphics department goes rogue on Palin poll

Pie charts are great and all, but like anything in life, there's a time and a place.

Unfortunately for one Fox affiliate, this was neither.

During a Friday broadcast, MyFox Chicago ran a graphic that apparently showed Sarah Palin enjoying a surge in support among Republicans in her quest to run against President Obama in 2012.

According to a recent Fox news poll, her backing for the GOP nomination has swelled to 70 percent among party voters, anchor Byron Harlan said.

According to the poll, the other top candidates for a 2012 bid on the Republican ticket are Mike Huckabee, with 63 percent and Mitt Romney with 60 percent.

Wait, that's 193 percent. Isn't the purpose of a pie chart to show how 100 percent of something would be divided?

The numbers came from Republican respondents to a recent Fox News opinion poll [PDF link], as pointed out by Think Progress.

The document produced by the poll does not present Republican favorability ratings with a pie chart. Instead, respondents were simply asked if they held a favorable view of certain public figures.

Atop the list of names sampled, Oprah Winfrey claimed the highest rating at 61 percent. Among Republicans, her favorability is just 46 percent.

Palin's overall placement on the list was second with a rating of 47 percent.

This video is from MyFox Chicago, broadcast Nov. 22, 2009.