Pete Spiliakos

Some examples, 1. Reagan was pretty reticent personally but I think this selection from his 1980 debate with Carter works very well: I don’t know what the differences might be, because I don’t know what Mr. Carter’s policies are. I do know what he has said about mine. And I’m . . . . Continue Reading »

Ross Douthat writes something that strikes me as very right (well, he often does that.) Romney’s speech last night was extremely vague on policy. If you went into the night not knowing what Romney wanted to do, you left the night not having learned much of anything. It was all personality . . . . Continue Reading »

1. Romney gave a win by default speech. The theory seems to be that what is holding the marginal voter(s) back from supporting Romney is that they think he is a guy who doesn’t care about anything but making a buck for himself and that “humanizing” (I hate that word) is the key to . . . . Continue Reading »

1. My thoughts were overwhelmingly positive so I’ll start with the constructive criticism. It would have been better if Ryan had taken some time to explain Romney’s Ryan-Wyden-style Medicare reform proposal. It would have slowed the speech down a little, but in Ryan’s case, that . . . . Continue Reading »

Be this guy.  Don’t go hunting for applause lines.  Don’t try to talk about everything.  Use your time to talk about two or three really big things.  Explain your most recent Medicare plan in maximum detail.. Explain IPAB and how Obama proposed to hold . . . . Continue Reading »

Though I don’t think they will matter much in the long run and I regret staying up to watch them, 1. When it comes to Ann Romney, it is like that saying credited to Lincoln, “That’s the kind of thing you will like, if you like that sort of thing.” She did a good job of . . . . Continue Reading »

1. Culturally Biased News - The people who produce CBN are mostly trying to be fair most of the time. They aren’t trying to help either Team Red or Team Blue. They understand that “both sides” have to be presented within an intellectually honest context. They want their audience . . . . Continue Reading »

1. I’m sort of moved to speak up for the populist conservative media (talk radio, Fox News - and Bret Baier and Chris Wallace on Fox are good by any standard.) They give a substantial fraction of the public the information and reinforcement they want. They make money. They make . . . . Continue Reading »

We had a short but high quality thread yesterday on the media and the young.  Carl noted that Chait’s column validates long-held conservative complaints about liberal bias in the media and Corey suggested that media liberals are following the George Lakoff’s advice to ignore rather . . . . Continue Reading »

Jonathan Chait has a terrific piece on how the entertainment media shapes political opinion especially among then young. Anybody interested in the long-term trajectory of politics should read it. Conservatives should especially read it. It helps explain why youth unemployment and underemployment is . . . . Continue Reading »