A shadow of the past
For your evening enjoyment, a bit of crystal-ball work by the AP, April 2003:
WASHINGTON -- When war ends in Iraq, President Bush will quickly shift focus to his 2004 re-election campaign and the issue that kept his father from winning a second term: a weak economy.
... "I believe the president will emerge from the war with enhanced ability to stimulate the economy," said House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a close ally of the White House.
... The economy may dominate, but the war on terrorism will remain a significant issue in Bush's campaign.
"All he's got to do is remind voters that this is a dangerous age and that Democrats, at best, have a lukewarm support for the military," said GOP pollster Whit Ayres. He said the conflict in Iraq may not fade from view as quickly as Democrats would like.
So how's that working out for you guys, anyway?
WASHINGTON -- When war ends in Iraq, President Bush will quickly shift focus to his 2004 re-election campaign and the issue that kept his father from winning a second term: a weak economy.
... "I believe the president will emerge from the war with enhanced ability to stimulate the economy," said House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a close ally of the White House.
... The economy may dominate, but the war on terrorism will remain a significant issue in Bush's campaign.
"All he's got to do is remind voters that this is a dangerous age and that Democrats, at best, have a lukewarm support for the military," said GOP pollster Whit Ayres. He said the conflict in Iraq may not fade from view as quickly as Democrats would like.
So how's that working out for you guys, anyway?
posted by fev at 7:10 PM
5 Comments:
As someone once said, never prophesy, especially about the future.
This from the Economist's preview of 2008, published this time last year:
If history is any guide, 2008 should be a better-than-average year for America’s stockmarkets.
http://www.economist.com/theworldin/displayStory.cfm?story_id=E1_TDTNVQDT&d=2008
AP really should have attributed that lead to someone. Then we could laugh at him, instead of them. OTOH, "He said the conflict in Iraq may not fade from view as quickly as Democrats would like" is kind of true. As quickly as anyone would like. Or maybe ever.
Meanwhile, back in December 2008, someone has decided that "President-Elect" should be capitalized that way. And it should also be capitalized when not immediately preceding the name.
Please make them stop. I'm losing the enamel off my molars.
Many people capitalize titles like that. They say "The Governor is coming" and "The Senator said".
But it's AP bedrock not to capitalize titles except in close apposition before the name. I actually preach that as a virtue of AP style -- pope and plowman stand equal before the stylebook -- but when I asked the 'what rule would you change' question this semester, a bunch of students thought we needed to capitalize President and Pope more often.
Style sometimes has that living-next-to-the-railroad-tracks aspect about it. You get so used to the thing going by that you forget it's a surprise to first-timers.
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