Month: August 2005
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Wry reporter humor
From a New York Times story on the deluxe accomodations in some military bases in Iraq: “We had no idea conditions were going to be this great!” said Lieutenant Deaton, 25, the public affairs officer of the 256th Brigade Combat Team and an ambassador of the exclamation mark. “My first thought was, oh my God!
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Misleading ads can backfire
One more comment on the NARAL ad against John Roberts that was pulled down this week. To me, this seems like a classic example of a pathology of the political ad business — the desire to use paid advertisements to generate media attention. Consultants intentionally overstate their case in ads so that they will create
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The AP scorches GOP over Tobin
Here’s a justifiably scathing piece from the AP over the GOP’s payment of James Tobin’s legal bills even as it denounces voter fraud and suppression: The Republican Party says it still has a zero-tolerance policy for tampering with voters even as it pays the legal bills for a former Bush campaign official charged with conspiring
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Correlation vs. causation: Family dining edition
The New York Times makes a classic error, portraying the correlation between eating together as a family and various positive outcomes as a causal relationship: The family dinner table, meanwhile, has mostly managed to retain something of a sanctified aura – the last meeting ground left in a world of working parents, relentless afterschool activities
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Down in the polls, Bush brings back 9/11
Ever since the march toward war in Iraq began, 9/11 has always been the administration’s hole card. They pull it out every time they get in trouble. It makes sense politically given that Bush’s approval rating was boosted to ridiculous levels by 9/11, and has been rapidly declining ever since. But it’s offensive given that
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NARAL pulls Roberts ad
According to the Associated Press, NARAL is withdrawing its misleading and controversial ad attacking John Roberts — hallelujah: After a week of protests by conservatives, an abortion-rights group said Thursday night it is withdrawing a television advertisement linking Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to violent anti-abortion activists. “We regret that many people have misconstrued our
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The attack machine versus Cindy Sheehan
The conservative attack machine is starting to turn up the heat against Cindy Sheehan, the mother who has turned her son’s death in Iraq into a crusade against the war. They know that her vigil outside President Bush’s Texas ranch could become a potent anti-war symbol if she isn’t smeared into submission first. Enter (surprise!)
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Pirro: Gone in 32 seconds?
Via Wonkette, Crooks and Liars has posted a devastating Democratic ad that mocks Jeanine Pirro’s 32-second pause during her announcement speech. This race may be over before it begins…
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More on NARAL ad
Following up on my post from yesterday, the NARAL ad against John Roberts is already drawing criticism from prominent NARAL allies: Within the larger liberal coalition of which Naral is a part, there was considerable uneasiness about the advertisement, although leaders of other groups generally refused to speak on the record. One who did, Frances
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The decline in Bush approval is real
Via Mickey Kaus, Mark Blumenthal, aka the Mystery Pollster, has a great post showing that the decline in President Bush’s approval numbers during 2005 shows up in almost every major national poll. It is not an artifact of any one poll, as some have claimed.