|
|
 |
April 2001
The Dawn of a Bold New Era
|
By
George W. Bush wants so badly to change the culture in Washington that it would seem almost churlish not to help out. So here at Pundit Scorecard -- where we track the accuracy of political pundits' pontification -- we're doing our part, wiping our clairvoyant competitors' slates clean after last month and letting them start building their records anew.
Well, letting most of them, at least. This month we bid a sad adieu to Sam, Cokie & Co. at ABC's This Week, who, we found, were far too calm, judicious, and -- whatever were they thinking? -- restrained for our purposes. (Which is to say they simply made too few predictions.) We've put them on indefinite hiatus and brought in the delightfully less sober-minded folks at Fox News Sunday.
Amid all this slate-cleaning and slate-shifting, however, it's nice to know some things didn't change: Capital Gangster Margaret Carlson is once again our monthly winner, topping this edition of the Scorecard with a dominating 4-for-4 record. Equally impressive is newcomer Fox News Sunday, which, like Carlson, batted a thousand. (The Foxes got all their predictions correct, but they made only five that we could check. The second-place Capital Gang, by contrast, made three times as many verifiable calls while still pulling out an impressive .813 average.)
And John McLaughlin, named "the century's wrongest pundit" in last month's wrap-up Scorecard, pulled up to the fifth-from-last slot. But he still doesn't shy from unorthodox views: "Pandas, schmandas," he declared on January 15. "They're cute, they're cuddly, but they're killers and they're costly." Even so, we're sure John's a good man, with a good heart. 
| PLAYERS |
| 1 |
Margaret Carlson, CG |
(4/4) |
1.000 |
| 2 |
Rober Novak, CG |
(3/3) |
1.000 |
| 2 |
Joan Williams, FNS |
(3/3) |
1.000 |
| 4 |
Tony Blankley, MG |
(1/1) |
1.000 |
| 4 |
Brit Hume, FNS |
(1/1) |
1.000 |
| 4 |
Mara Liasson, FNS |
(1/1) |
1.000 |
| 4 |
Clarence Page, MG |
(1/1) |
1.000 |
| 8 |
Al Hunt, CG |
(3/4) |
.750 |
| 9 |
Morton Kondracke, BB |
(2/3) |
.667 |
| 9 |
Kate O'Beirne, CG |
(2/3) |
.667 |
| 11 |
Fred Barnes, BB |
(3/4) |
.500 |
| 12 |
Mark Shields, CG |
(2/3) |
.500 |
| 13 |
John McLaughlin, MG |
(1/2) |
.333 |
| 14 |
Eleanor Clift, MG |
(0/1) |
.000 |
| 15 |
Michael Barone, MG |
(0/0) |
.000 |
| 15 |
Lawrence O'Donnell, MG |
(0/0) |
.000 |
| 15 |
Tony Snow, FNS |
(0/0) |
.000 |
| TEAMS |
| 1 |
Fox News Sunday |
(3/3) |
1.000 |
| 2 |
The Capital Gang |
(13/16) |
.813 |
| 3 |
The Beltway Boys |
(4/7) |
.571 |
| 4 |
The McLaughlin Group |
(3/6) |
.500 |
Covers predictions made between December 15, 2000, and February 4, 2001. Team scores based on total predictions made on each show.
|
|
|
Have an opinion about what you just read?
Join the discussion on our message boards.
a letter to the editor.
We post some of the letters we receive, and may edit for length and clarity. Please tell us if you don't want us to share yours.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
SPECIAL OFFER:
FREE SUBSCRIPTION
Spend $25 on anything at Contentville and get a free subscription to Brill's Content magazine, plus a membership in the Citizens' Club, which gives you a 5% discount off already-low prices. Shop NOW and get your FREE subscription!
more info
|
|
| DISCUSS this article on the message boards. |
|
| a letter to the editor.
|
|
| READ recent feedback.
|
|
