Month: July 2010
-
Mitch McConnell versus Bush economists
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday repeated the all-too-common claim that tax cuts increase government revenue: That’s been the majority Republican view for some time… [t]hat there’s no evidence whatsoever that the Bush tax cuts actually diminished revenue. They increased revenue, because of the vibrancy of these tax cuts in the economy. So I think
-
The economy versus events in Obama approval
Sean Trende at Real Clear Politics has written an ambitious new post arguing that the state of the economy is not necessarily “principally responsible” for President Obama’s approval ratings, pointing to posts by Jon Chait (citing me) and Ezra Klein: There is no doubt that, as a general matter, the economy is an important factor
-
NPR Talk of the Nation interview today
I’m currently scheduled to appear on NPR’s Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan from 2-2:40 PM EST to discuss the difficulty of correcting misperceptions — FYI for those who are interested. You can look up when the show airs in your area here. Update 7/13 9:45 PM: Audio from the segment is now available
-
Jacob Weisberg reads John McCain’s mind
Writing in Newsweek, Slate Group chairman Jacob Weisberg demonstrates the ability to peer in John McCain’s mind and discern the reason for his transformation into a “grumpy old man” (emphasis added): McCain’s personality seems to have changed in a more fundamental way. Running for president in 2008 was as bad for McCain as running in
-
Smerconish interview tomorrow morning
As a result of today’s Boston Globe article, I’ll be on Michael Smerconish’s morning radio show tomorrow at 7:06 AM EST discussing my research with Jason Reifler on the difficulty of correcting misperceptions — FYI for those who are interested.
-
Boston Globe article on correcting misperceptions
Joe Keohane has published an essay in the Boston Globe ideas section on the difficulty of correcting misperceptions that discusses my research with Jason Reifler (PDF). Here’s how it begins: How facts backfire Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains By Joe Keohane | July 11, 2010 It’s one of the great assumptions
-
Steele gaffe elicits DNC attack on dissent
Since last year, I’ve been cataloguing the increasing number of Democrats and liberals who have attacked dissent against President Obama as seditious or aiding Al Qaeda. From Time columnist Joe Klein to Salon editor Joan Walsh, Obama supporters have embraced the tactic that Republicans used against them so successfully in the years after 9/11. Still,