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Rove's Math

Category: Culture
Posted on: November 9, 2006 12:15 PM, by Jonah Lehrer

I know too much schadenfreude isn't good for you, but I just couldn't resist posting this little excerpt of Rovian braggadocio from NPR last week:

SIEGEL: We're in the home stretch, though, and many would consider you on the optimistic end of realism about -
ROVE: Not that you would be exhibiting a bias ...
SIEGEL: I'm looking at all the same polls that you're looking at every day.
ROVE: No, you're not. No, you're not.
SIEGEL: No, I'm not.
ROVE: No, you're not. You're not. I'm looking at 68 polls a week. You may be looking at four or five public polls a week that talk about attitudes nationally but that do not impact the outcome of -
SIEGEL: I'm looking at main races between - certainly Senate races.
ROVE: Well, like the poll today showing that Corker's ahead in Tennessee, or the poll showing that Allen is pulling away in the Virginia Senate race.
SIEGEL: Leading Webb in Virginia, yeah.
Mr. ROVE: Exactly.
SIEGEL: But you've seen the DeWine race and the Santorum race - I don't want to have you call races.
ROVE: Yeah, I'm looking at all these, Robert, and adding them up, and I add up to a Republican Senate and Republican House. You may end up with a different math, but you're entitled to your math, I'm entitled to THE math.
SIEGEL: Well, I don't know if we're entitled to our different math, but you're certainly
ROVE: I said THE math. I said you're entitled to yours.

Maybe it's time to buy Karl a new calculator.

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Comments (6)

1

Can we ship him a copy of "Arithmetic for Dummies"?

Posted by: NJ | November 9, 2006 12:39 PM

2

Do you remember all that Republican BS critiquing the Clinton White House for being too poll-driven?

Posted by: dcbob | November 9, 2006 1:24 PM

3

Yeah Rove, you may have THE numbers, but the DEMS had YOUR number.

Posted by: Christopher | November 9, 2006 1:43 PM

4

Well, maybe Rove's polls had some sort of internal flaw.

I know that whenever I was called and asked how I was going to vote, I always assured the Republicans I was going to vote for them. But, somehow, on election day, I didn't. :-)

Posted by: Ahcuah | November 9, 2006 6:22 PM

5

I'm really worried this is gonna be like 1992 all over again, a 2 year wonder then reality hits again. Only this time there's no Clinton in the White House to hold the pubbies down.

Posted by: Shelley | November 9, 2006 6:33 PM

6

Rove sings a different tune


...
And he does not believe his data let him down. "My job is not to be a prognosticator," he said. "My job is not to go out there and wring my hands and say, 'We're going to lose.' I'm looking at the data and seeing if I can figure out, Where can we be? I told the President, 'I don't know where this is going to end up. But I see our way clear to Republican control.' "
...

I hope numerous people will save the transcript and recording of Siegel's interview, and play it back for Rove at every opportunity for decades to come. Smug git.

Posted by: Mustafa Mond, FCD | November 11, 2006 8:13 AM

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