America's best read urban weekly | Learn More »
by TED S. McGREGOR JR. & r & & r & Art Imitates Life & r & & r & In honor of our Fall Arts Preview, how about a look at the presidency in the arts this fall? Sure, there's all the embroidering -- of resumes and life stories -- going on in both campaigns. But we're waiting to see if the next Oliver Stone film has an impact on voters. Stone's film, W., traces the life and times of George W. Bush, and with a wide release date of Oct. 17, it will be out in time for voters to ponder its mash-up of fact and fiction before Election Day. Josh Brolin (last seen in No Country For Old Men) stars as George Jr., and the trailer features Brolin/Bush crashing his car and fighting with his dear old dad, all with "What a Wonderful World" playing. Not hard to figure out where Stone is going with this -- but then again, Fahrenheit 9/11 didn't make a difference in 2004, so art and politics may not mix after all.
In the Home Stretch
Every election season, the journalists and pundits covering the presidential race say the same thing -- this time, let's cover the issues and not the horse race. And every election season they go ahead and cover the horse race and not the issues. The major culprit behind the knee-jerking is all the polling. Just since the two conventions, we've seen endless speculation on who's up and who's down -- it changes daily, and even within the same day different polls reach different conclusions.
The fact is, as backed up by the good people at the National Council on Public Polls (yes, there is such a council), polls get more and more accurate as Election Day gets closer, but earlier in the cycle they can be way, way off. Another thing: While it is fun to know who's ahead in the national numbers, we don't elect our presidents by popular vote. You need to study polls state by state to see who is ahead where -- and how many electoral votes are up for grabs in that particular state. This election will be decided in a handful of toss-up states. So if you must bet on the ponies, dig a little deeper and check up on how your guy is doing in places like Missouri, Virginia and Ohio.
In the Home Stretch
Every election season, the journalists and pundits covering the presidential race say the same thing -- this time, let's cover the issues and not the horse race. And every election season they go ahead and cover the horse race and not the issues. The major culprit behind the knee-jerking is all the polling. Just since the two conventions, we've seen endless speculation on who's up and who's down -- it changes daily, and even within the same day different polls reach different conclusions.
The fact is, as backed up by the good people at the National Council on Public Polls (yes, there is such a council), polls get more and more accurate as Election Day gets closer, but earlier in the cycle they can be way, way off. Another thing: While it is fun to know who's ahead in the national numbers, we don't elect our presidents by popular vote. You need to study polls state by state to see who is ahead where -- and how many electoral votes are up for grabs in that particular state. This election will be decided in a handful of toss-up states. So if you must bet on the ponies, dig a little deeper and check up on how your guy is doing in places like Missouri, Virginia and Ohio.
Latest in Comment
-
On the Street
Jan 17, 2019 -
Staying woke with Mary Poppins
Jan 17, 2019 -
The pastor of Salem Lutheran Church, which now houses a homeless warming shelter, grapples with the tensions between faith and politics
Jan 17, 2019 -
Readers respond to Inlander stories about development and regulations on urban housing
Jan 17, 2019 -
The new film Vice is yet another reminder of the differences between the two Bushes
Jan 10, 2019 -
Winding down a career as a homebuilder, Greenstone's founder has an affordable housing to-do list for his hometown
Jan 10, 2019 - More »
Readers also liked…
-
There's no shortage of ways for Brown to challenge McMorris Rodgers' role in the Trump party
Jul 19, 2018 -
A History of Horrors
Aug 24, 2017 -
Here's to Dave, the bus driver
Jun 14, 2018
