Mike Edwards's Blog, page 7

Truth and Context

One of the things we discuss in Democracy Despite Itself is how voters respond more to what they think a candidate said than what a candidate actually said–which is exactly why it's more important for candidates to sound slick and polished than to tell the truth.

Take the case of Rick Santorum and the unemployment rate. Santorum gave a speech yesterday in which he stated a deeply held belief–in fact, one that most independent economists would agree with (albeit with some caveats). Santorum a...

Interview by Mike on KPFT (Houston)

I gave an interview awhile back with Maida Asofsky, host of the radio program "Give Me Liberty" on Houston's KPFT 90.7; apparently it aired back on Mar 5, although I just discovered that yesterday. Anyway, I've linked to the MP3 download, if you are interested in listening to it.

Voting On What Never Happened

As voters we are often asked to make judgments that we are not really equipped to make. For instance, the ideal balance of threats, military action, and sanctions vies a vie Iran is an incredibly complex problem, even for the minority of Americans who can locate Iran on a map and name it's dominant religion (Shi'a Islam), ethnicity (Persian), and language (Farsi).

But this November, it appears that voters will be asked to make an even harder decision than that: judge between two alternate...

Obama’s True but False but (Probably) True Statement

There are often no easy answers to complicated issues.

In a speech today, President Obama once again asserted that “the United States has 2% of the world’s oil reserves, but uses 20% of the world’s oil.” The Washington Post’s Fact Checker took on this claim and found that it was “True But False”. If anything, the Fact Checker is understating the complexity of the situation. Let me explain… or try to.

The United States does consume, in any given year, roughly 20% of the oil that is extracted and...

Obama's True but False but (Probably) True Statement

There are often no easy answers to complicated issues.

In a speech today, President Obama once again asserted that "the United States has 2% of the world's oil reserves, but uses 20% of the world's oil." The Washington Post's Fact Checker took on this claim and found that it was "True But False". If anything, the Fact Checker is understating the complexity of the situation. Let me explain… or try to.

The United States does consume, in any given year, roughly 20% of the oil that is extracted ...

Danny on WMFE Radio

Danny Oppenheimer just had a great interview with WMFE 90.7, Orlando's NPR affiliate, about Democracy Despite Itself, so make sure to check it out.

New Publicity for Democracy Despite Itself

The Washington Post has reviewed Democracy Despite Itself, noting that "'Democracy Despite Itself'" is a useful corrective to the cynicism that pervades so much political commentary."

In other news, some of Danny's research that helped to lay the foundation for the book has recently gotten some attention on the Huffington Post.

Changing Our Minds About Romney?

Here's another post I wrote for the MIT Press blog, this time on Mitt Romney's attempts to use mass market advertising strategies to change basic public perceptions.

Strategic Voting on Super Tuesday

I wrote a post for the MIT Press blog about Newt Gingrich, strategic voting, and the Super Tuesday primary. Check it out.

And Yet It Works…

People Aren't Smart Enough for Democracy to Flourish, Scientists Say. Or at least so claims one particular article making the rounds on the blogs today. And in fact, if you've read our book, you'd know that the authors of the article get it half right. People aren't very smart, at least not when it comes to making rational and unbiased decisions about political leaders and complicated matters of policy. People are shockingly ignorant, in fact, as a general rule.

And yet, democracy works...