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Scandals then and now
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Here’s part of the headline from a January 1924 New York Times article I just came across while doing research for my dissertation on presidential scandal: Sound familiar?
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Election Day notes
I know it’s a mundane thing to say, but I will anyway. Please go vote. It’s our civic duty. After you vote, you’ll be watching the bloviating cable news pundits like me. Here are two useful guides I’ve seen to when the polls close on various key races, which will help you know when to
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Speech suppression is not the answer
Politics is a rough business. There are a lot of misleading claims out there. But rather than countering them directly — with more speech — a disturbing number of politicians and analysts suggest that we should suppress speech instead. For instance, back in 1999, John McCain — a leading contender for the presidency in two
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Santorum’s “Wrestling” ad
If you haven’t seen Rick Santorum’s “Wrestling” ad, you need to do so right now — I came across it via Eve Fairbanks of TNR Online, which called it “possibly the worst ever made.” As she writes, “What is the most wrong image you could imagine pairing with the virulently anti-homosexuality, pro-family-values Santorum for a
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Ideologues and elitism in judicial races
If you have ever thought that judges should be elected, the latest crop of North Carolina judicial races should convince you otherwise. Two races feature wacky ideologues who are apparently trying to get elected on the basis of their political beliefs — a completely inappropriate tactic from a potential judge. Here’s how the Independent, the
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Uncompetitive House race trend
The New York Times ran a nice graphic today summarizing how uncompetitive most House races have become in recent years: I especially appreciate that the Times, unlike many other sources, is agnostic about whether the trend is driven by redistricting.
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Dept. of unproven assertions: Josh Marshall
In blogging, short posts are the devil. Nothing good comes of them. Josh Marshall has started publishing misleading one- or two-sentence posts asserting things he cannot prove. As I’ve pointed out, he previously asserted that the 2004 election was stolen, writing “Helping steal the 2004 election wasn’t enough” in reference to Ohio Secretary of State
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Sites to watch today and tomorrow
I hate useless armchair prognostication about elections. Ignore the talking heads and keep up with these sites today and tomorrow for the most reliable information about how things will break: 1. Pollster.com – this new site has quickly become the definitive resource for opinion poll information and analysis. The most important feature is that it
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NYT error on Kerry joke story
Does anyone at the New York Times read their own newspaper? Here’s what Adam Nagourney and Jim Rutenberg wrote on November 1 about John Kerry’s botched joke: In his remarks in California on Monday, Mr. Kerry said: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and
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John Kerry on Ken Starr’s appointment
Here’s some non-election-related trivia that I came across while doing dissertation research. In 1994, John Kerry praised Ken Starr’s appointment as Whitewater independent counsel in place of previous special counsel Robert Fiske as a “good move.” Here’s an excerpt from the Washington Post (8/6/94): Fiske is widely respected as a skilled prosecutor and a man