[November 4, 2000]
Wow. Wow. Wow. Northwestern and Michigan combine for 106 points and Northwestern pulls out the win, 54-51. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Too bad ESPN decided not to show THAT one. W
[November 3, 2000]
A long, long time ago, many political economists predicted that Gore would beat Bush by ten, fifteen, or even twenty points, based on their economic models. Now they blame Gore for taking a dive.
"What I would have told Bush back in May was, `It is not your election to lose, it's Gore's,' " Wlezien said. "And I would have told Gore, `It is your election to lose; don't stick your finger in your ear.' And that is basically what he has done."
And sticking his finger in his ear was quite an accomplishment, considering where his head has been lodged for most of his life. W
[November 2, 2000]
The Post supports school choice! Even the liberal paper of record, in the belly of the bureaucratic beast that is Washington, D.C., can't resist the compelling logic of letting parents choose their children's schools.
We don't know, and it's safe to assume that no proposed experiment will prove flawless. But we do know the status quo. To the many children losing out in the current system, some state-by-state experimentation might offer relief.
The Post understands federalism?!?! I'm still reeling. W
Lance at My Cluttered Desk has a pretty plausible election scenario for Gore to lose before 10:00 p.m. EST. While Lance's vision is far from a lock, neither is it the hysterical ranting of a lunatic.
However, Lance might want to take a look at the poll closing times and revise his predictions accordingly.
With this post Angus officially moved himself to my "do not read at work" list. Let's just say that naked breasts on one's front page don't contribute to a wholesome workplace environment. Really, don't hit the link if you're not prepared to deal with the consequences. W
I know why progressives should vote for Nader rather than Gore. There's at least one guy who makes a case - with a straight face - that conservatives in lopsided states should vote Nader too. While I don't agree, I find the thought... interesting. Of course, the crux of his argument rests on his offhand dismissal of Libertarian candidate Harry Browne. I reject that dismissal, hence my disagreement. W
It won't be over even after it's over. In the unlikely event that the popular vote and the Electoral College results differ, both campaigns plan to lobby the Electors to switch their votes. Strange, but legal.
Of course, even if this does happen, it won't be the end of American democracy as we know it. The simple fact is that presidential campaigns are geared towards the rules of the current system. If raw popular vote, rather than electoral vote, decided the election, then you'd see the campaigns run very differently, and you'd probably see different issues addressed. Instead of appealing to individual states, candidates would be forced to woo the populations in major media markets. Rural and less-populated states would practically disappear from the electoral calculus, in direct opposition to the vision of the framers of our Constitution. W
Have you been wondering why the Gallup poll is all over the place? John Fund thinks it's because their methodology sucks. W
[November 1, 2000]
Subject: Presidential Election announcement
Due to an anticipated voter turnout much larger than originally expected, the polling facilities may not be able to handle the load all at once. Therefore, Republicans are requested to vote on Tuesday, November 7, and Democrats and Independents on Wednesday, November 8.
Please pass this message along and help us to make sure that nobody gets left out.
Thank you.
2000 Presidential Election Commission
Please be sure to pass it along W
Coming soon to a Mirror Project near you: Jason, Yael and I in the reflection of a dessert case and Jason and I in Leona's window, on Chicago's north side. Who is Leona, you may ask? Only the purveyor of some of the best darned Italian food in the midwest. W
My own theory on undecided voters is not that they don't know what they want. Rather, what they want isn't one of their choices. Faced with the prospects of two more or less unsuitable major party candidates, and not knowing about their other options, most of these voters will stay home on election day. What our current polls call "undecideds" will turn out to be no-shows because they won't take the trouble to go vote for candidates they really don't want to support.
Between Bush or Gore, this will probably hurt Gore more, since Republicans are hungrier for victory, but most of all it hurts the third party candidates and it also hurts the process because those alternative views don't really get much of a fair shake in the media. W
[October 31, 2000]
Speaking of pseudonyms... hey Wendell, who are you calling "dick"? W
The Wildcats have a chance to grab a share of the Big Ten title again this year, thanks in part to their play-of-the-day worthy last-minute victory over Minnesota. On deck this week: Michigan. Every year the 'Cats have beaten Michigan, they have won the Big Ten. W
Man Accused of Having Sex With Sheep. If he spends next week in jail, he probably won't have the opportunity to vote for Al. (Hey, that headline is going to pull in some GREAT search engine hits.) W
The Gore-Nader vote-swapping site may be illegal in California and elsewhere:
A new breed of Internet site that helps voters in one state "swap'' their votes with voters in another state appears to violate California election law, Secretary of State Bill Jones said Monday. William Wood, Jones' top lawyer, said California election law specifically prohibits any inducement to vote, and that they interpret the law to apply to vote swapping.
Here's a solution. Vote your conscience and go for the long-term victory instead of the short term sell-out. W
[October 30, 2000]
I'm in Richmond today, taking the oath for the Virginia Bar. W
