The dilemma for journalists this week: How should you cover a series of proto-scandals with seemingly little in common? … Many are covering the new “narrative” of Obama’s administration, which is reflective of the way that political and media elites coordinate on interpretations of events as scandalous. As I argue […] Read more »
Is There Really a Second-Term Curse?
President Obama is facing one of his roughest stretches in office after questions about the government’s response to the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the admission by the Internal Revenue Service that it inappropriately targeted conservative groups which sought tax-exempt status, and the revelation that the Justice Department subpoenaed communications by […] Read more »
Conspiracy trumps facts in scandals
It’s no coincidence that word leaked out about a poll revealing that 59 percent of Americans see a conspiracy in the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, just as discussion of the Benghazi and IRS scandals are heating up. Actually, it is nothing more than pure coincidence, but our […] Read more »
Alan Abramowitz: It’s ridiculous to call these scandals ‘game changers’
It seems possible. I reported Monday on political science research suggesting this is a particularly fertile moment for scandals to take hold of the media. … Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University, is skeptical. He e-mails: “Here’s why this is very unlikely to be a ‘game changer.’ The […] Read more »
Why Obama is in trouble on IRS and Benghazi
After a largely scandal-free first term, President Obama appears likely to spend a lot more time mired in the politics of scandal after last week’s Benghazi hearings and Friday’s revelation of alleged political targeting at the IRS. My research suggests that the structural conditions are strongly favorable for a major […] Read more »
Sanford and the Electoral Effect of Sex Scandals
Tuesday night’s special election in South Carolina’s First Congressional District was won by the Republican Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor whose political career was imperiled in 2009 after he disclosed an extramarital affair. As we almost always say about special elections, the race probably does not tell us […] Read more »