Brendan Nyhan

Month: January 2009

  • Chris Matthews not running for the Senate

    Good news: Chris Matthews is not running for the Senate as I feared. Now he can resume destroying our political culture via inane cable news chatter instead.

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  • Mark Sanford for president — really?

    Much as it may endear him to hardcore conservatives, I can’t imagine Mark Sanford’s stonewalling on unemployment funds is going to endear him to the national electorate in 2012. Can anyone imagine him being anything other than a Goldwateresque sacrificial lamb? PS The Times report also includes this detail on a very classy 2004 Sanford

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  • Michael Gerson goes off message

    I’ve repeatedly cast doubt on the idea that Barack Obama will be perceived as having a mandate when he takes office. Political science research has shown that members of Congress change their voting patterns after a perceived mandate election but that such a response only takes place when both sides agree that a mandate exists.

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