A few obvious ones, but I'll go with the Iran story. We don't have the outcome yet, but surely it matters either way.
"Doesn't matter" is too strong, but VA-AG is certainly a combination of elements that give something far more attention than it deserves. I think it was Dave Hopkins who made the more general point on Tuesday that we tend to pay disproportionate attention to these off-year elections, and he's of course exactly right. Add to that an exciting, close election, and there you go.
What do you have? What do you think mattered this week?
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Does matter: Phillippine Cyclone
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter: What margin Terry McAuliffe won by
I'll second the Iran point. The personal relationship between Obama and Netanyahu probably doesn't matter, but Israel's isolated stance will probably have a big impact on what a deal with Iran might look like. Also the good economic numbers certainly mattered.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what really didn't matter? That Alabama primary, as long as kooks are willing to run against mainstream conservatives the fear of that possibility will be every bit as successful at keeping those mainstream conservatives in line as the voice of Ronald Reagan coming down from heaven and denouncing the Mitch McConnells of the world.
Apart from political junkies, I don't think many people (at least outside Virginia) are paying much attention to the VA-AG race. So I can't really say that it is getting too much attention (nor should it get much).
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of McAuliffe's victory that has not gotten sufficient attention is that it leaves the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee (whether Hillary or not) the freedom to choose Warner or Kaine as her/his running mate without worrying about losing a Senate seat (at least not immediately).
The beginning of the 2016 nomination fights are beginning, it may not matter, but it's interesting. Hillary was here in LA this week courting donors and Christie was freaking everywhere. Two media darlings, it will be interesting to watch the horse race. Anecdotally, I've heard many conservative friends grouse about Christie and half the party turned on HRC last time... front runners go down often.
ReplyDeleteWell, except when they don't. I mean, Dole 96, Bush 00, and Romney 12 were all front runners from the start, and it wasn't like McCain 08 came out of nowhere.
DeleteArgue against the Iran deal mattering, especially knowing the outcome, this seems like a situation that will deteriorate further and will ultimately end with no agreement and I don't think that matters...
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to wonder if the evolution of the Incognito/Martin thing might matter. Specifically as it transitions from easy indignation at the use of proscribed language into a story more about class than race. We aren't comfortable talking about class, as liberals like to pretend it doesn't exist, and conservatives, though acknowledging it exists, pretend like it doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteIf Martin/Incognito makes us a bit more comfortable discussing class, that could have interesting implications. For example, when you see a picture of Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz shaking hands, you probably think of the crass Tea Party opportunism and little else.
Look instead at the context of the Princeton golden boy and U of Idaho (+3 dropout), and that photo-op suddenly gets a whole lot more interesting, especially in how shallow the relationship between Palin and Cruz must be, and who owns the Tea Party friends for real? Etc.
The cuts to food stamps are pretty big. Forty-seven million Americans are on food stamps, nearly a million of them in military service, and the latest cuts mean $36 less per month for families and $11 per month less for singles. And more cuts are in the works. The media has barely touched this story; it's a disaster for people. Guess they don't subscribe.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be high on everybody's list, but what's the matter with apologies these days? What's in a good apology, and what's so wrong with the most recent ones (Obama and 60 Minutes)?
ReplyDelete