& Now It Begins!
The MSM (read ANTIQUE MEDIA) are already making sweeping changes. Out with the old, in with the new.....UNFORTUNATELY these sweeping changes are in rhetoric......Orin Kerr at Volokh Conspiracy tells it like it is....
"Mandate for Me But Not for Thee: People for the American Way Press Release in 2008, after Democratic President Elect Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain by a 53-46 margin:
Looking at yesterday’s results, it’s incontrovertible that the election delivered a sweeping mandate for President-elect Obama . . .
People for the American Way Press Release in 2005, after Republican President George W. Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry by a 51-48 margin:
Clearly, President Bush, who won a narrow victory and leads a divided nation, has no mandate . . .
A 53-46 margin isn't exactly the same as a 51-48 margin. But still, I think I see a pattern.
UDPATE: Some commenters seem to believe this post is unfair, because everybody is prone to this sort of hyperbole — especially advocacy groups. To be clear, the point of the post is just that: This was just an early example of the shift in arguments that we're all supposed to make now that the Presidency is set to change.
Also, a few readers argue that there really is a dramatic difference between the two election outcomes. First, some readers argue that the test for whether there is a "mandate from the people" is electoral college outcome, not the popular vote; I respond to that here. Second, some argue that a doubling of the size of the gap is really dramatic; the difficulty is that if you look historically at the differences, the two sets of outcomes are not so far from each other; the doubling of a small number is still relatively small given the range of outcomes in elections. Of course, Obama won soundly, especially at the electoral college; it wasn't a close election. But I don't think the difference justifies the rhetoric of the press releases, which was the point of the post."
And thus the MSM totters off to find GREAT things in a new LIBERAL, Democratic President-Elect's results....as opposed to the GOP results of 2004.
Do you see any bias; I don't see any Bias......
Damn!
Duke
posted by Duke of DeLand @ 11/05/2008 09:06:00 PM
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