Against Polling
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Against Polling
Polling is systematically biased in just that way: toward variables that were evident in the last election, which may or may not be salient for this election. And the more polls dominate discussions of campaigns and elections, the more they crowd out intellectual energy that could be devoted to figuring out those salient, deeper, structural changes... See more
You Are Entering the Infernal Triangle - The American Prospect
I think we are trained, particularly on the left, to be critical of performance. And I feel we should be more honest in acknowledging that performance is crucial to politics. It doesn't mean it's the only factor––that policy or other factors don't matter. But it is a defining feature.
Conor Friedersdorf • The Charisma-vs.-Charm Election
Politics Happens Through the Eyes
By Morry Kolman
One of the odd quirks of symbolism that Roland Barthes gives attention to in his book Mythologies is election photography—the pictures that are taken and shared of the people that want to represent us. Writing about the political posters he was seeing around France at the time, he reflected on the... See more
By Morry Kolman
One of the odd quirks of symbolism that Roland Barthes gives attention to in his book Mythologies is election photography—the pictures that are taken and shared of the people that want to represent us. Writing about the political posters he was seeing around France at the time, he reflected on the... See more
Jasmine Sun • Macrodoses #5: The Election
This contrast between the interactive content that “people crave” and the “traditional media” that has become outmoded has taken on a political cast since the election. In a New Yorker item, Joshua Rothman argues that “Democrats preach while Republicans riff” — i.e. Democrats operate like the nattering nabobs of traditional media while Republicans
... See moreRob Horning • Another Four Miles
Politics becomes theater, and news becomes performance. As Postman argued, a society dominated by this mode of communication "forgets how to think in paragraphs, and learns instead to think in scenes." This represents a shift away from the abstract, analytical thinking encouraged by literacy and toward a more emotional and reactive engagement with... See more