Monthly Archives: November 2010
Trustee or Delegate? The Impact of Controversial Votes on Democrats in the 2010 Midterms
Trustee or delegate? It is the classic dilemma every elected official faces. Political scientists are fond of reminding their students that Edmund Burke once explained to his constituents that as a member of Parliament he would be a trustee, not … Continue reading
Why Did Political Scientists Miss the Midterm Wave?
After a period of post-midterm decompression, it’s time to return to the blogging salt mines. Picking up where I left off in my last post, let me start with a simple question: why did every political science forecast of the … Continue reading
Is It Tea Time In America? A Qualified Yes
Let me begin the initial post-election analysis by thanking Rachel Pagano, Ben Wessel, the Republican and Democratic student groups, Owen Witek and Sarah Pfander who manned the computer all night, all the media staff, everyone who bought me beer, Wenbo … Continue reading
Live Blogging Election Night
7 p.m. Welcome all to another Election Night extravaganza, courtesy of the Presidential Power blog! We’ll be setting up at the Middlebury Grille later tonight at 8 pm, as per tradition, but since polls are already closing (or have closed … Continue reading
Nate Silver Is Not A Political Scientist
I’ve made this point before, most recently during the 2008 presidential campaign when Silver’s forecast model, with its rapidly changing “win” probabilities, made it appear as if voters were altering their preferences on a weekly basis. This was nonsense, of … Continue reading
