Playing with the numbers

Matthew Hoy
By Matthew Hoy on January 23, 2004

The New York Times most irrelevant columnist, Paul Krugman, takes on new electronic voting machines in his latest column. No big deal. Nothing egregiously partisan in the article, except for the first paragraph.

[T]he disputed election of 2000 left a lasting scar on the nation's psyche. A recent Zogby poll found that even in red states, which voted for George W. Bush, 32 percent of the public believes that the election was stolen. In blue states, the fraction is 44 percent.

Let's think about Krugman's numbers. Members of which political party are most likely to believe that Bush stole the election?

Democrats.

Good.

Even in states Bush carried (red states), Gore got (pick one) more than/less than 32 percent of the vote?

More than.

Good.

In states Gore carried (blue states), Gore got (pick one) more than/less than 44 percent of the vote?

More than.

Good.

So. What are Krugman's numbers really telling us? That most (but not all) of the people who voted for Al Gore in 2000 are still mad that they lost.

Is this really a "scar on the nation's psyche"? Only if you're a liberal Democrat.

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