The Chris Christie Is My Co-Pilot Gabfest
Listen to Slate's show about Sandy, the presidential homestretch, and the Nate Silver backlash.
Posted Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, at 2:44 PM ET
Become a fan of the Political Gabfest on Facebook. We post to the Facebook page throughout the week, so keep the conversation going by joining us there. Or follow us @SlateGabFest!
To listen to the discussion, use the player below:
On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Hurricane Sandy, the state of the presidential race going into the final weekend, and the conservative backlash against New York Times polling expert Nate Silver.
Here are some of the links and references mentioned during this week's show:
- John says Romney’s polling momentum has stalled; if you’re unfamiliar with Nate Silver’s work, his Oct. 28 post has an overview of the polls and a discussion of his methodology.
- Slate’s Matt Yglesias looks into Romney’s plans for FEMA.
- John references feedback he collected from undecided voters.
- David wonders how Mormonism may affect Romney’s political views about FEMA; in Mother Jones, Stephanie Mencimer reports on what’s unique about the Mormon response to prior natural disasters.
- David also references Julia Ioffe’s comparative study, in The New Republic, of the Russian response to their 2010 Heat Wave.
- Bloomberg’s Josh Barro argues that shifting FEMA’s responsibilities to the states won’t save money.
- John notices that Romney has improved his polling most by moving away from the conservative pundit class.
- Ezra Klein inventories some of the critiques of Nate Silver’s methodology.
Emily chatters about why the Supreme Court isn’t a dog’s best friend.
John chatters about The Browser.
David chatters about the Fitter Families Contest. Here's the medal he talked about:
Topic ideas for next week? You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest
The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)
Podcast production by Michael Vuolo. Links compiled by Jeff Friedrich.
See Every Pop Culture Reference Made in a Tarantino Movie in 5 Minutes
Dr. Oz’s Miracle Diet Advice Is Malarkey
The NRA Claims the AR-15 Is Useful for Hunting and Home Defense. Not Exactly.
Emily Bazelon is a Slate senior editor and writes about law, family, and kids. Her forthcoming book, Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Empathy and Character, will be published in February. Find her at emilybazelon@gmail.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
John Dickerson is Slate's chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. He can be reached at slatepolitics@gmail.com. Read his series on the presidency and his series on risk. Follow him on Twitter.
David Plotz is the Editor of Slate. He's the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank and Good Book. He appears on Slate's Political Gabfest.