Monday, December 27, 2010

Today's Political Observation

I am, as you know, in favor of the Affordable Care Act...that piece of legislation that some call "Obamacare." I think it doesn't go nearly far enough but I think it's a good first step. I have several correspondents who are opposed to it and they often send me links to articles that, they think, will get me to change my mind. This morn, two separate individuals sent me the results of a new CNN poll (link to PDF) which they thought would convince me that since a majority of the public is against the A.C.A., it must be bad. I don't know why they think this. They all hate Obama and always have. When he won a significant majority vote in this country (a real vote, not a poll), none of them said, "Oh, well then he must be good." But somehow, since a majority of Americans don't (they say) want Obamacare, it must be bad. Anyway, here's the question they cited from this poll...

As you may know, a bill that makes major changes to the country's health care system became law earlier this year. Based on what you have read or heard about that legislation, do you generally favor or generally oppose it?

54% said they were opposed. 43% said they were in favor. So if we're talking about what America wants, it would appear 54% thinks Obamacare should be cut way back or repealed or something of the sort. But as several sites are noting this afternoon, that's not a fair representation of what this poll said. In fact, it's basically lying...because the follow-up question, asked of those who answered "oppose" was as follows...

Do you oppose that legislation because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think it is not liberal enough?

Turns out, the 54% who'd said they opposed the legislation breaks down like this: 37% thinks it's too liberal. 13% thinks it's not liberal enough. In other words, 13% thinks like I do that it should go farther.

So to present it the way my correspondents did and as others are doing is just dishonest. A true representation of this poll would be that 37% of respondents think the A.C.A. is too liberal while 56% think it's either just right or needs to be more liberal.

Of course, one could suggest that it's just one poll so maybe it shouldn't be taken that seriously. Right, Hank and Roger?

• Posted at 6:44 PM · LINK

Updates

Well, let's check in on some of our most frequent topics, shall we?

Late Night Wars — Leno is up lately, Conan is down. A lot of folks are for no visible reason eager to say the battle is over and to declare a victor. It's not that easy to say how right or wrong NBC was to oust Conan O'Brien from The Tonight Show and reinstall Jay Leno. You have to theorize as to where Conan's ratings would be if he still had that gig. I'm guessing though that NBC is feeling pretty good about their decision right now and the folks at TBS who took Conan in have to be just a tad concerned. I've been watching Conan there, by the way...or at least, watching some of the show. He's had a string of guests who don't much interest me and neither do their interviews...but I'm enjoying the non-interview segments. I think actually it's a better show than what he did at NBC.

Spider-Man on Broadway — No further accidents...and some online commenters are making the point that because of the injuries, there's an added layer of suspense for the preview audiences. When the actors are flying through the air, there's less certainty that nothing can go wrong. The long preview schedule has caused some reviewers to begin bending the unofficial rule that a show is not to be reviewed until it officially opens. So far, those who are doing the bending don't seem to like what they see, particularly citing a weak second act, unmemorable songs and unnecessary and muddled revisions to the Spider-Man legend. Meanwhile, the big online debate seems to be over news that the injured Christopher Tierney does not intend to file a big, whopping lawsuit against the show. For reasons I can't quite explain, some hail this as admirable while others deem it lunkheaded. Few are considering the possibility that the decision has anything to do with some some nondisclosed settlement that might already have been negotiated.

The Writers Guild — It seems like we're always striking, coming off a big strike or heading towards the possibility of one. Not many are mentioning the "S" word yet but the Guild has been organizing something we call our "Pattern of Demands." This is a wishlist of potential contract improvements we assemble each time we head into negotiations. In some past episodes, the "pattern" has been that the other side gives us a take-it-or-leave-it offer and refuses to even listen to the wishlist, let alone concede any of its points. Last time out, they did at least listen and we made a little headway on the list. This time, the smart money is that we're headed for a quick and dirty deal — the Producers huddle with our current president John Wells and a few others and made an arrangement to head off a strike with the usual incremental fee increases and a few token items from the Pattern of Demands. I'm not saying that will definitely happen but both sides have ample reason to make it go that way. At the moment, I don't see a picket line in my future.

I'm going to be very busy the next few days...maybe not Mushroom Soup busy but close to it. Posting here will be hit-and-miss. Responses to e-mail will be the same with the emphasis on the "miss." I am fine, dear friends. Just have a lot to handle as I run the End of the Year Clearance on my "to do" list. Back soon.

• Posted at 10:24 AM · LINK

Today's Video Link

My pal Earl Kress pointed this one out to me. It's another batch of openings from old TV shows — in this case, sitcoms that lasted one season or less. You will notice certain folks appearing in more than one of them. You'll also notice a few are outta-sync or truncated. That's Vin Scully voiceovering the main title of Occasional Wife, by the way. And whatever happened to Emmaline Henry?

• Posted at 3:22 AM · LINK