Walter Shapiro

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@DougHeye @JillDLawrence @newrepublic I accept that there is a close connection between an incumbent's approval ratings and an off-year election. My point is, as you write, there is "a lot of time between now and then." And I think so much depends on where we are in the fall of 2022 with Covid. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

RT @JillDLawrence: .@newrepublic's @MrWalterShapiro with an eye-opening historical trip through premature midterm punditry. Among his concl… — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@KalishRichard Trying to understand what's going on in the country politically should be what reporting and commentary are all about. To do this well doesn't require much gazing into crystal balls. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@NormOrnstein I still give a small edge to Mandel just on the basis that he's been doing it longer. Though Vance is making major strides. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

And I survived the avalanche of wrong-headed political clips and over-hyped news stories to tell the tale. Moral: "Handicapping off-year congressional elections nearly 400 days in advance has proven about as accurate as an eighteenth-century blunderbuss." — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

The NRA, of course: "The crude firearm...was perfectly suited for close quarters battles. While it sorely lacked in accuracy and range..." https://t.co/7YUrQf9kJ1 — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@VBass Next piece I will go with Gattling gun. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@dcg1114 So love that MacMillan quote. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@dcg1114 That's my point. Too many things are in play to predict how life will look in November 2022. And none of the prior elections that I studied was conducted in a nation under the shadow of a pandemic. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@mseyfang Thanks. You can just imagine how many news clips I waded through to discover how inaccurate October predictions are in odd-numbered years. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

I wrote: "Handicapping off-year congressional elections nearly 400 days in advance has proven about as accurate as an eighteenth-century blunderbuss. Yes, the forerunner of the shotgun could hit its target. But its accuracy was limited, and it carried the risk of misfiring." — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

Every off-year election a year out since 1993 was lovingly examined by Yours Truly. Moral: The Democrats should be concerned but not freaked out by the current mood. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

In 1960, there was actually a debate question trying to put JFK on the spot because Harry Truman had said, “Republicans can go to hell.” — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@GloriaBorger Talking filibusters here we come. Or so I hope. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@hans_zek Doesn’t sound like it would be him based on his most recent comments. Nor does it sound like Angus King. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

Who’s the third? — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

COVID remains the most important issue for Biden. And the tenor in his voice as he talks about vaccinations indicates that he knows it. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@MilliganSusan @daveweigel @AOC The nuisance of a primary would still rankle. But I agree that @aoc would have major problems north of the Bronx. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@NYHammond Kudos. These numbers are almost never placed in context. Another context is what percentage of the overall funds that Sinema has raised comes from Pharma. To read the clips, you'd think it was 80% of her fund-raising. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@kausmickey It looks rather lovely. Almost like a Dubai theme park version of Washington. Studying the picture closely, I am puzzled, though, about how all the cars got on Lincoln Memorial Island and where they are driving to. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@daveweigel The state Democratic Party, the governor and the attorney general are not the ones worried about a primary challenge from @aoc. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

Did Joe Biden write Superman's clunky new slogan? Yikes. It's “Truth, Justice and Building a Better Tomorrow.” My favorite columnist @JillDLawrence offers a fascinating look at the implications of the Man of Steel's ditching "the American Way." https://t.co/uhtz29u5dI — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@LaVelleNeal The TV networks in their worst ratings fantasies. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@janeleavy1 Reducing the number of pitchers on a roster has the added advantage of not tinkering with the actual game on the field. It affects managers rather than players. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@janeleavy1 I remember when @mlb went after Rotisserie baseball because they said it was gambling. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@LukeEpplin I do too since I live in the building that has been renamed the Arconia. So did Issac B. Singer. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@Bencjacobs The morning line is 7-to-5. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

After watching my fifth Draft Kings gambling ad in three innings, I would how long it will be until we have a major sports gambling scandal. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

But it does matter if the results are not clearly visible in the next election. That was a big problem with the Affordable Care Act in 2010. It is also my fear with the Biden spending package. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

Kudos to @powellnyt for his interview with geosciences professor Phoebe Cohen at Williams and getting this chilling response: “This idea of intellectual debate and rigor as the pinnacle of intellectualism comes from a world in which white men dominated." https://t.co/3Oc4Lin2Wv — PolitiTweet.org