US President Joe Biden has announced his campaign for a second term, 18 months before the 2004 election. His announcement follows that of former President Donald Trump in mid-November. This puts us on track for a predictable train wreck as both candidates are viewed by many in the voting public and in their own parties … Continue reading A Democratic Train Wreck – Biden versus Trump 2024
elections
Changing the Denominator: Spinning Election Results
It is amazing how commentators spin the results of an election. You would think that a candidate wins or losses, but no, it can be (and most often is) spun to make a win sound like a loss or vice versa. The recent example I have in mind is Liz Truss winning the Conservative Party … Continue reading Changing the Denominator: Spinning Election Results
This is the United STATES of America: The Primaries are the Problem!
In the aftermath of the 2016 Presidential elections, the shock of Donald Trump’s surprising win has generated a flurry of initiatives to turn back the clock and rerun or overturn the election, such as Jill Stein’s failed attempt to recount the ballots in a number of key states. The most worrisome efforts – to me … Continue reading This is the United STATES of America: The Primaries are the Problem!
Vote for a Future, Not the Odds of a Horserace
I am amazed by the number of pundits that seem to believe only Clinton supporters can add numbers. Today’s New York Times columnist, Paul Krugman, illustrates this in his piece entitled ‘Feel The Math’. Since his ideas repeat a very common argument, it is important to call out the problems with Krugman’s math lessons. First, … Continue reading Vote for a Future, Not the Odds of a Horserace
No More Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Remember when everyone was complaining about voters having no real substantive choice among candidates for office? We were faced with a problem of deciding between Tweedledum and Tweedledee, two characters from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass (1871). I’ll post John Tenniel’s illustration. No one could tell them apart and they became a common refrain … Continue reading No More Tweedledum and Tweedledee
Grading the Fox News-Facebook GOP Presidential Debate Spectacle by Bill Dutton and Tracy Westen
The televised and Facebooked GOP debate was a disaster. The clear loser of the debates was the media, particularly Fox News and Facebook, for putting together a media event that made a mockery of televised debates. It clearly drew a large audience (over 23 million viewers), and gave some greater national visibility to some of … Continue reading Grading the Fox News-Facebook GOP Presidential Debate Spectacle by Bill Dutton and Tracy Westen