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How To Count ChangeMichael Newman and Chris Wilson take your questions about Slate's quantitative gauge of Obama's progress.

Posted Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, at 7:52 PM ET

(Continued from page 1)

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Bethesda, Md.: How do you think this compares to Politifact's Obameter?

Michael Newman: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

That's a pretty straightforward assessment of whether he's kept his promises from the campaign. This is a more subjective take on Obama. We can take tone and personnel decisions and congressional relations and other stuff into account.

Chris Wilson: And not all promises are created equal. Some would have a tremendous impact on many people if enacted, while others are more esoteric.

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Washington, D.C.: What do we mean by change? The simple undoing of Bush policies and executive orders? Or does it go farther back than that?

In your opinion, what specifically is the best example of the cliche "Washington politics as usual" that needs to be changed? Is it something that can realistically be changed?

Chris Wilson: It's most certainly not limited to the undoing of Bush's policies, though I suspect that, in the immediate future, most of the significant changes will have that flavor. (Obama's inaugural certainly wasn't short on jabs at 43.) In part, this is because Bush governed so unilaterally, making some of his policies pretty easy to undo right away. When I worked at Congressional Quarterly, we once made a cover for the weekly magazine that consisted of a "W" printed in sand with the tide washing in, to suggest how flimsy much of his legacy is. Made a huge mess in the conference room in the process...

But to get back to your actual question, no, it's not just anti-Bush stuff. The Washington bureaucracy is famously difficult to puncture, but anything Obama does to actually rework the wiring in a significant way will score big.

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Rochester, N.Y.: As I understand it, this is still a right-center nation. We're going to need a lot of bipartisan compromise to get anything done and that's going to anger extremists on both sides. Do you agree?

Michael Newman: Even stipulating to all that you say, it really has no effect on the Change-o-Meter. The Change-o-Meter takes no position on whether America is center-right, center-left or center-middle. It just measures change. The Change-o-Meter has not voted in an election since 1944, when it went for FDR.

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Albany, N.Y.: Do you support a Jack Bauer exception for torture? How about a Jimmy McNulty exception for inventing spectacular crimes in order to get more resources?

Chris Wilson: That's really strange, I just got a phone call from the man claiming to be the killer. Big scoop for Wilson.

Michael Newman: Not even Jack Bauer could get the Change-o-Meter to reveal all the secrets of its methodology.

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Washington, D.C.: How much will personality play a role? If the Obamas go out in the city, become part of the party scene, etc., in a way the Bushes never were, is that taken into account?

Chris Wilson: Only if someone can make a case that this really matters. If you've got one, I'm all ears:

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Anonymous: Have you ever run your Change-O-Meter against other presidents? I ask because I recall a group of political scientists went through Clinton's 1992 campaign statements and they found that he did indeed at least attempt to achieve virtually everything he did promise. I haven't read if anyone has done the same with Bush as yet.

Michael Newman: Slate didn't exist till 1996, so we didn't do one for Clinton. If we were around then, I like to think we would have had one for FDR.

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Chicago: I know this "Change-o-meter" is for edutainment purposes only, but I have some questions about your methodology. To what degree is the Change-o-Meter accumulative, and how does it account for intangible or anecdotal evidence of change?

Chris Wilson: Contrary to what Mr. Metaphysical over there might say, I'm not too philosophical about this. In fact, I think most intangible changes can be sniffed out through more quantitative means, like opinion polls.

That said, one thing we're definitely watching is Obama's tone in his public statements. Major tonal shifts from the Bush years are important.

Michael Newman: To an extent we're trying to quantify qualitative things, it's true. But as Chris says, there are ways to do that.

And to answer a previous question about the Obamas going out on the town and how it affects the Change-o-Meter: If they go to the Palm or Don Graham's house, not much. If they go to Five Guys, they'd probably move the meter a few ticks.

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Chris Wilson: Thanks for the great questions, folks. Once again, please send ideas to —I'm only one man, and Newman is only about 1.5, so even between the two of us we need a little help tracking the entire federal government. Until next time.