‘There’s Nothing Better Than a Scared, Rich Candidate’

“Put the right images on the screen and the right words in the script, and all the candidate has to do is read the lines. Politicians aren’t leaders—they’re interchangeable products to be packaged and sold.”

“The Republican pollster John McLaughlin, who told then–House Majority Leader Eric Cantor he was leading his 2014 primary by 34 points shortly before he lost, had a track record of giving clients bad information. McLaughlin still gets hired today.”

“The vast majority of presidential elections […] can be forecast based on the state of the nation’s economy and the approval rating of the sitting president.”

Molly Ball, The Atlantic