Chuck Todd: The fog of polls hits the 2024 campaign
After the historic felony conviction of a former president who is also the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, the entire political community — from candidates and strategists to academics, observers and the media — is trying to figure out what it means now and what it will mean in November.
After the historic felony conviction of a former president who is also the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, the entire political community — from candidates and strategists to academics, observers and the media — is trying to figure out what it means now and what it will mean in November.
To say this is an unprecedented moment in our brief political history is an understatement. (By the way, I think I’ve written a version of that previous sentence far too many times to count — but I digress.) The fake pundit I’m fond of (mis)quoting these days is Doc Brown from the end of the first “Back to the Future,” when he tells Marty McFly not to worry about having enough road for the DeLorean to hit 88 miles per hour: “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
I’ll admit, I’ve been misquoting the Doc lately, using this movie scene to explain what little we know about our own political future as we try to cut through the fog of polls.
That might sound like a cop-out answer, but this is the reality of the country’s current political situation. There was a time when immoral and unethical behavior was a political death knell. But as big tech and social media have algorithmically accelerated our tribal instincts, it’s never been easier for anyone, guilty or not, to claim victimhood with some segment of the public. The red and blue tribes have an amazing ability these days to compartmentalize the bad behavior of folks on their side, while crying foul about an opponent with similar or worse characteristics.
To me, the real question of whether the verdict will have an impact on voters lies in the hands of the two presidential campaigns. How much is the verdict front and center versus simply setting the atmospherics?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/chuck-todd-fog-polls-hits-2024-campaign-rcna155453
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