Brendan Nyhan
Scandal on the front page of the Washington Post from 1977-208.
To get a good political scandal going, you need a slow news cycle and a bunch of folks who kinda hate you. That's the very rough version of the political science in Brendan Nyhan's new paper(pdf), "Scandal Potential."
But even that formula requires scandalous behavior. Steve Benen floats the idea that President Obama has made it this far into this first term without a Plame Affair or an Interngate because he's living right:
Some of this may have to do with lessons learned — these officials saw what the nation had just endured during the Bush/Cheney era, and committed themselves to avoiding even the appearance of wrongdoing. We've also seen this administration act quickly to nip potential problems in the bud, before they go anywhere. (In some instances, such as Shirley Sherrod, they've acted too quickly.)
But I tend to think the best answer is probably the most obvious: Obama and his team just aren't corrupt.
Below, amazing formulas from Brendan Nyhan's report.
Political science sometimes goes like this.
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it is sad that john edwards is being targeted for his sex indiscritions,may be hhe is innocent.The jury will examine all the facts and i am pretty sure that he will come out of this mess with a clean,objective and learned from his mistakes
Edwards is a pig, pure and simple. If he is fool enough to go in front of a jury, he'll find his charming smile won't help a bit. I used to admire the man, now I can't stand to see his face. And when he is on his way to prison, they might as well keep the same jury around to deal with Ensign.
Dude.....I will give you a big high 5 for having the balls to back Edwards, but Come on. Have You seen the evidence in this case? This is what politics does to people. Everyone wants to ride the Great Wave. Celebrity without the need to be on film. Let me stand next to your Fire. This is the best Legallized Mafia Game ever. Those who want to play have no one to blame...We have to stop feeling sorry for the rich and celebrity folk. I'm sick of the Hamptons, Coburns, Ensigns and alot. They will all go on to write tell all books and make millions. Hit the lecture circuit and politcal rallies as if Nothing Happened. I respect your opinions Cris and love ya as My Fellow American, but Dude, Come on. Peace
How amazing! People in government who aren't corrupt! What will we think of next? Universal Healthcare? Renewable energy and rebuilt infrastructure? Wall Street regulation?
You realize, of course, that we've probably just invoked the Sportscaster Jinx.
A-men.....
The people that "kinda hate" Obama have been trying to shred him on his place of birth and school transcripts...I'm sure the haters will try and create some other kind of nonsense any minute.
He's not my hero...personally I think he needs to grow a pair...but all this crap they are making up about POTUS is a HUGE waste of time and energy...all due to hate. I will support him.
Well, atleast you can say politics is not boring anymore. High School Kids are saying WTF!
I think the word is "intelligent"! The President knows when NOT to push back.
They have got to be pulling their hair out, saying things like, "How do we pissed this guy off." First, these folk need to focus on representing the American People and do their jobs instead of trying to win the White House back by scandal hunting. You are not goona get Obama to freak out, get drunk and invite hookers to the White House. (he's a nerd; it ain't gonna happen). To assume that becasue Obama is a "black man" and this should makes him prone to bouts of aggression and 'thuglike' behavior if provoked; runs side by side with the notions that if you live in a 'Trailor Park', that makes you a redneck. The Republicans are paying consultants to give them ideas on what is suppose to piss black men off. (hahahaha....must have hired them from the same firm that Trump hired his investigators to go to Hawaii.) I smell a sitcom
Benjamin Netanyahu did a pretty good job of that...
If you look at Rep Weiner's weekend twitter scandal the equation is a little different.
He has plenty of enemies, they waited for a slow news cycle and then made something up.
The twitter thing isn't just a case of Weiner having enemies. I really think Breitbart and his partners in crime were trying to replicate the circumstances that led to Chris Lee resigning and which culminated in NY26 flipping to the Dems, with the apparent hope that if it happened to a Democratic member of the House, then the district would flip to the GOP. It's all such transparent, Dr. Evil-quality villainy. Fortunately, by now everybody knows Breitbart's MO, and knows that he's the anus of Republican politics (everything that passes through him is crap).