Reality-based punditry

[nancylebov]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/we-got-it-wrong-new-ham_b_80620.html

We got it WRONG! Doesn't that tell you (yes, you!) -- the media consumer -- something crucial? It means that we don't really know what we're talking about... and that the only poll that matters is the one that happens on election day. Which means that you should spit in the eye of everyone who tries to tell you: "the race is over, you shouldn't even bother voting" -- and go vote for who you believe in anyway.

If elections were predictable, there'd be no reason to hold them.

Link thanks to asim.

Comments

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

If elections were predictable, there'd be no reason to hold them.

I suspect President Musharraf would disagree with you.

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

Now now. Elections are only predictable if you work hard at it....

[osewalrus.livejournal.com]

Wat makes the difference between a "media consumer" and a citizen is the willingness to think independently.

" ... And a 3.2 from the East German Judge"

[sgsguru.livejournal.com]

The media fit everything into their "narrative"; everything has to fit into the story. When something doesn't, it causes "cognitive dissonance"; the world doesn't match their story any more. Something has to change.

Ideally, the media should change their narrative. Unfortunately, like anybody else, they tend to ignore inconvenient facts. This is what "spin doctoring" really is -- warping the description of the facts to fit the narrative.

(We'll see if anybody remembers the very old joke in the title.)