tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post6371860531675360472..comments2024-03-26T19:10:00.791-04:00Comments on West Coast Stat Views (on Observational Epidemiology and more): More naked emperor reporting -- at this point, the NYT is just trolling usJosephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760453165301871031noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-66203960159407035492015-08-17T23:01:16.998-04:002015-08-17T23:01:16.998-04:00That Tourette's comment was badly phrased on m...That Tourette's comment was badly phrased on my part and a bit hyperbolic. To clarify, Trump can be coherent and even persuasive but he often falls into (or possibly affects) a big, energetic style that sometimes seems like a comedy writer's idea of a mental disorder. It's worth noting that Colbert literally foamed at the mouth when imitating Trump.<br /><br /><br />My badly stated point was that, despite Trump's history of outrageous and even crazy sounding comments, Rattner couldn't come up with anything that set him apart from the rest of the GOP hopefuls in terms of economic policy.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14705408455380402571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-59821967350923906262015-08-17T18:32:48.894-04:002015-08-17T18:32:48.894-04:001. I was struck by this quote: "a lack of u...1. I was struck by this quote: "a lack of understanding of basic economics that is startling for a billionaire businessman." Is it really surprising that "a billionaire businessman" would have a lack of understanding of basic economics?<br /><br />2. The Tourette's jibe seems unnecessary and inaccurate to me.Andrew Gelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02715992780769751789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-76623273655798314822015-08-17T16:18:06.616-04:002015-08-17T16:18:06.616-04:00Credit where credit is due: the leper line came fr...Credit where credit is due: the leper line came from the Two Jakes.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14705408455380402571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-60842207868093613692015-08-17T10:11:13.402-04:002015-08-17T10:11:13.402-04:00Yes they are screwing with you. You know it. And...Yes they are screwing with you. You know it. And they know it, too.<br /><br />The Republican elite are alarmed at the traction that Trump has gained among their base and fear that this could end up costing them the 2016 presidential election. They want to trash his candidacy and put this fire out. But they also know that if they push it too far, he can run as a third party candidate and that would really sink them. So they have to try to make him look bad without provoking him too much. And they certainly don't want to point out that the rest of their candidates are also rather loony, if less juvenile in the way they articulate their positions.<br /><br />And the mass media have known for a long time that reporting doesn't have to be even remotely accurate to be influential. So the media are taking advantage of this principle while trying to trash Trump within the constraints noted above. <br /><br />P.S. Love that leper metaphor!Clyde Schechterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10037411039318795888noreply@blogger.com