 From my Twitter feed (10/3-10/7)Oct 7, 2011 at 4:21 PM | |
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 | .@CJRDaily on "Obama's disconnect" http://j.mp/nd5gSG Reminder: Only popular presidents "connect" http://j.mp/b5VUvC He's not so no surprise |
 CJR Holds a Town Hall in Nebraska Obama's disconnect with the voters In a recent column for The Washington Post, Richard Cohen recounted how FDR cried when he learned that children living in migrant worker camps had no toys for ... | |
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| Oct 7, 2011 at 4:04 PM | |
| Yes. Very easy to "connect" if growth is high MT @dankennedy_nu And only presidents who are in office during good economic times are popular |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 4:11 PM | |
| Strong work RT @pemalevy: I can tweet this cause I heart Joe Biden. http://t.co/JAjQjxGl |
 18 Pictures That Show What Joe Biden Is Really Like "Aliens, Barry. Aliens" "BIDEN'D" Good stuff. Two and a Half Men killed me. The pie one is so accurate. The Pie one absolutely SLAYED me. This is what Jimmy Fallon does. I'm just gonna leave thi... | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 2:06 PM | |
| Ouch: Lead anecdote in top NYT story is about unemployed guy with PhD in poli sci http://j.mp/oTSfkQ |
 Some Unemployed Find Fault in Extension of Jobless Benefits - NYTimes.com As President Obama urges Congress to act on renewing an extension to unemployment benefits, some are arguing that it’s a hindrance to the economy and discourages workers. | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 11:40 AM | |
| Not clear why NYT thinks Dan Tolleson is representative of unemployed - totally unusual example http://j.mp/pMX5mH |
| Some Unemployed Find Fault in Extension of Jobless Benefits - NYTimes.com As President Obama urges Congress to act on renewing an extension to unemployment benefits, some are arguing that it’s a hindrance to the economy and discourages workers. | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 12:38 PM | |
| He's a member of the Constitution Party - "major parties continue to drive our country toward a socialist, 1-world govt." http://j.mp/oMLnIw |
| T. Dan Tolleson | LinkedIn Public Policy researcher and advisor with proven expertise in editing and producing written material for managing public and government affairs. Highly effective communicator with excellent inte... | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 12:39 PM | |
| RT @Rule22blog: Using the Nuclear Option to Limit Post-Cloture Obstructionism, Not Deliberation http://t.co/azwFdxWo |
 Using the Nuclear Option to Limit Post-Cloture Obstructionism, Not Deliberation Talking Points Memo has the most cogent explanation of what happened tonight regarding the s0-called nuclear option (edit: see also Sarah Binder's post at TMC). I'm too tired at the moment to ad... | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 12:18 PM | |
| RT @ProfStevenSmith: For background on the legislative environment in which Reid's move occurred, see this paper on the "Senate syndrome." http://t.co/JXkwvYHk |
| The Senate Syndrome The most important developments in the Senate’s modern procedural history concern adaptation to, circumvention of, or reform of the super-majority requirement for cloture under Rule XXII, which ... | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 10:54 AM | |
| RT @ProfStevenSmith: "Changed the rule" is half of the story about what happened in Senate tonight. Long history to dealing with dilatory post-clotures moves |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 10:54 AM | |
| RT @RyanDEnos: NYTimes compares Steve Job's innovations to modern U.S. politics by sweeping generalization & absolutely no evidence. http://t.co/JpZ38OQq |
| POLITICAL TIMES - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 2:18 AM | |
| Strained metaphor alert RT @MattBai: If only #stevejobs had been able to create iPolitics -http://nyti.ms/qCibuU |
 What Steve Jobs Understood That Our Politicians Don't - NYTimes.com It's staggering to contemplate how much the Apple co-founder understood about modern America that those who govern it still don't. | |
| Oct 7, 2011 at 12:46 AM | |
| Slate horse race animation by @WillOremus is amusing but would be more informative to use @Intrade data instead of polls http://j.mp/qTIQvO |
 Horse-race politics: an animation of the 2012 Republican campaign. The press is routinely accused of covering political campaigns as if they were horse races: so preoccupied with who’s up or down in the polls that it ignores the substance of the campaign. Presi... | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 7:41 PM | |
| Obama got a scandal question re: Solyndra & Fast and Furious from @jaketapper at presser today http://j.mp/nFC1vy (via @jbplainblog) |
 Obama Oct. 6, 2011 press conference. Transcript - Lynn Sweet THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 6, 2011 NEWS CONFERENCE BY THE PRESIDENT THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I will take your questions in a secon... | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 6:34 PM | |
| Too much cable-watching by pols: "Daley keeps his TV tuned to CNBC to keep track of how the fiscal battles are playing" http://j.mp/oALVmk |
 Budget Battle Presses William Daley Into Political Combat - NYTimes.com The current climate at the White House presents an awkward turn of events for William M. Daley a business-friendly banker who seems more comfortable negotiating with Republicans than excoriating... | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 5:52 PM | |
| Collins yet again (#23): "I cannot really figure out that many ways to mention that Romney once drove..." http://j.mp/nqXkey Yes, yes u can |
 Desperately Seeking Dalrymple - NYTimes.com It’s only October. We can’t be down to a race only between Romney and Obama. Hello, Gov. Butch Otter! Hello, Gov. Jack Dalrymple! | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 11:29 AM | |
| You think? RT @dankennedy_nu: Gail Collins is definitely tweaking @BrendanNyhan: http://t.co/Ud33wwCX |
| Desperately Seeking Dalrymple - NYTimes.com It’s only October. We can’t be down to a race only between Romney and Obama. Hello, Gov. Butch Otter! Hello, Gov. Jack Dalrymple! | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 12:35 PM | |
| RT @GrahamDavidA: .@BrendanNyhan Butch Otter is the new Willow the Cat is the new Mitt Romney's dog—2 mentions in last 2 Collins columns: http://j.mp/r9fAJB |
| Desperately Seeking Dalrymple - NYTimes.com It’s only October. We can’t be down to a race only between Romney and Obama. Hello, Gov. Butch Otter! Hello, Gov. Jack Dalrymple! | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 3:58 PM | |
| RT @smotus: Attention liberals who pine for Clinton the partisan fighter: quit yer whinin'. http://t.co/H8u0gjgF |
| Enik Rising: How quickly we forget A busy schedule and a tight budget unfortunately kept me from attending last weekend's Clinton '92 campaign reunion in Little Rock. I have no idea if the Washington Post 's coverage of the event... | |
| Oct 6, 2011 at 11:01 AM | |
| Political reporters - read this! RT @kwcollins: Five questions to improve campaign finance reporting http://t.co/8WIv58aM |
 Five questions to improve campaign finance reporting In the next few weeks, campaigns will be releasing their third quarter campaign finance reports, for which the books closed on September 30th and which are due to the Federal Election Commission... | |
| Oct 5, 2011 at 4:10 PM | |
| RT @victorylab: Filling in at @fivethirtyeight, John Sides has a great summary of what we think we know about how campaign ads work http://t.co/5USHTrHh |
 The Moneyball of Campaign Advertising (Part 1) - NYTimes.com The frustration that Billy Beane felt when listening to his scouts talking about baseball players is the frustration that a political scientist feels when listening to many campaign consultants,... | |
| Oct 5, 2011 at 2:25 PM | |
| Recommended: @jbplainblog on the 2 tracks of the GOP primary http://t.co/Q2OAz7y9 and how Christie did actually run http://t.co/t3ZyssNp |
 The 2012 GOP primary as reality TV show A few weeks ago everyone knew that the Republican nomination race was between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Guess what? That's still true now. You can safely ignore the polling that shows Herman C... | |
| A plain blog about politics: Christie Out Chris Christie is out of WH 2012 . You'll see lots of people saying he decided not to run. You know what? I think that's probably wrong. I think he did run for president for a few wee... | |
| Oct 5, 2011 at 1:46 PM | |
| NYT runs letter from neuroscientists debunking "Love Ur iPhone" op-ed: http://j.mp/o16n57 (via @hardsci) My post on it: http://j.mp/pZQiK9 |
| russpoldrack.org: NYT Letter to the Editor: The uncut version | |
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| Oct 5, 2011 at 11:06 AM | |
| RT @hardsci: Presidential rhetoric becomes simpler in re-election years. An old post that is getting relevant again: http://t.co/UjvE51V5 |
 Does that include midterms? Okay, so just now when I saw this… … I immediately thought of this: Tetlock, P. E. (1981). Pre- to postelection shifts in presidential rhetoric: Impression management or cognitive adjustment. Jo... | |
| Oct 5, 2011 at 12:24 AM | |
| Let’s Check Some Predictions on Divided Government by John Sides @monkeycageblog http://j.mp/oQQxoM Score: Poli sci 1, pundits 0 |
| Let’s Check Some Predictions on Divided Government — The Monkey Cage Matt Bai, January 7, 2010: Sure, all things being equal, a president would rather have his allies firmly in control than not. But recent presidents have had more success when forced to work with... | |
| Oct 4, 2011 at 12:27 PM | |
| Brutal that Obama is already conceding this: "I don't think that [Americans are] better off than they were 4 years ago" http://j.mp/nVIE84 |
 Obama: 'I Don't Think They're Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago' President Obama admits that Americans aren't better off than they were four years ago -- the old Ronald Reagan formulation -- and he's not going to try to convince them that they are. In an inte... | |
| Oct 4, 2011 at 11:23 AM | |
| Obama scandal watch - A1 WP story on Solyndra, but not called a scandal (term was used in online story yesterday) http://j.mp/niJl6k |
 Obama was advised against visiting Solyndra after financial warnings What is Sarah Palin's next act? Sports major could be major gain Does Obama still have political juice? Rare albino alligator at the National Aquarium Steve Jobs and the idea of letting go Stink... | |
| Oct 4, 2011 at 11:19 AM | |
| Authors bizarrely suggest suicide rate/sad natl anthem lyrics relationship assoc could be causal http://t.co/WrnLHqNx (gated but link works) |
| Ammons Scientific - LYRICS OF NATIONAL ANTHEMS AND SUICIDE RATES Psychological Reports, est.1955; Peer-reviewed, bimonthly publication; Empirical, theoretical, mainstream, and alternative views on issues in psychology. Vol. 109, Iss. 1 (August 2011) The Richa... | |
| Oct 4, 2011 at 2:17 AM | |
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October 07, 2011
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About Me
I am the James O. Freedman Presidential Professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College. I received my Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Duke University and have served as a RWJ Scholar in Health Policy Research and a faculty member in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. I am a co-director of Bright Line Watch. Previously, I contributed to The Upshot at The New York Times, served as a media critic for Columbia Journalism Review, co-edited Spinsanity, a non-partisan watchdog of political spin, and co-authored All the President's Spin. For more, see my Dartmouth website.
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Though Brendan tweets about scandal ("Obama got a scandal question re: Solyndra & Fast and Furious from @jaketapper at presser today"), in fact Tapper never used the word "scandal." He called them "controversies."
The definition of scandal that Brendan himself has used in his research is whether the Washington Post has referred to a controversy as a scandal on its front page in a headline or in a reporter's voice. By that standard, neither Solyndra nor Fast and Furious is a scandal.
At least with respect to Solyndra, the Post's editorial board may well be right in referring to it as a boondoggle rather than a scandal. The real issues in Solyndra are what Larry Summers wrote in an unguarded moment, that the government "is a crappy vc," and the folly of spending tens of billions of dollars to create a relative handful of jobs. Whether or not there was crony capitalism in the government's helping hand to a big Obama contributor is an issue that may well become the focus of a scandal, but the larger issues, even though only a controversy, deserve the greater attention.
Of course, the time-honored wisdom that it's always the cover-up that gets you may well prove true with respect to both Solyndra and Fast and Furious. Or perhaps not. The cover-up with respect to the New Black Panther Party prosecution didn't become a scandal in the Washington Post's telling. If a tree falls in the forest but the Washington Post didn't have its hearing aid in, did a tree fall?
Posted by: Rob | October 07, 2011 at 02:00 PM
It seems bizarre that Reid used the nuclear option to prevent the Senate from voting on Obama's Jobs Bill. Reid's apparent purpose was to spare the President and Reid the embarassment of the bill not getting a majority vote in the Democratic Senate.
Whether or not this vote took place seems quite unimportant, since everyone agrees that the bill itself had no chance to pass. I'm sorry to see the "nuclear option" utilized for such a petty purpose.
Posted by: David in Cal | October 07, 2011 at 08:46 PM