In his latest post on the John Ziegler/Zogby-Poll affair, Silver quotes dissects the following passage from his interview with Ziegler:
"Nate Silver [NS]: Do you stand by all the statements in the survey as being unambiguously true?
John Ziegler [JZ]: I stand one hundred percent by the notion that there is absolutely zero ambiguity as to what the right answer is to any of the questions."
Apparently - the criterion for something being a fair question for Zeigler - is that there is no ambiguity as to what the answer is. So - let's begin by coming up with a couple of our own to show how patently absurd a criterion this is:
Question: Which candidate is the most like Mr. Magoo?
Answer:
a.) Obama
b.) Palin
c.) McCain
d.) Biden
There is only one unambiguous answer here - so apparently, it isn't only a fair answer - but one that says something about how poor a job the media is doing should conservatives not be able to answer it correctly.
Now - let's up the scandal quotient for our next question.
Question: Which candidate's spouse bought him his way into public office?
a.) Biden
b.) Palin
c.) McCain
d.) Obama
Again - there is only one answer which even comes close to making sense - so this too would be a fair question in Zeigler's book.
Now-- Zeigler is trying to suggest that the media gave Obama a pass when it came to covering his "scandals". The problem is - that Zeigler's standard for truth (that statements simply be close enough to reality that interviewees "know who you mean") - is a demonstrably different standard than that which the major media has a commitment to airing.
Or - to put this another way - Where were all the stories about McCain being Mr. Magoo? Where were all the stories about Mrs. McCain buying her husband his seat in congress?
Note: This was originally posted at fivethirtyeight.com in comments under the name Starbuck (don't ask).