Quickies: CNN Caves; Jeb Falls; Dow Collapses; Norm MacDonald Is Awsome

CNN has caved on its stupid rules for determining who will be at the big kids' table at the debate.

They will now only use polls since the FoxNews debate. This will certainly put Carly Fiorina into the debate, as Real Clear Politics has her in fourth place -- just a point behind Jeb Bush.

But this only begins CNN's problems. Having changed their rules midstream, whoever loses his place due to the new rules will have a major -- and legitimate -- beef with the network.

As I've said, you can create any panel you like and claim you're doing so based on "objective criteria" if you're allowed to choose, post-hoc, which objective criterial you want to use. Want Christie to be in the debate at the expense of, say, Huckabee? Then choose this poll that has Christie higher and Huckabee lower.

Etc.

By abandoning their pre-established "objective criteria" rules (which I am doubtful were all that pre-established anyway), CNN essentially admits they're going to put on whoever they want to have on and then use whatever polls they need to use to justify that decision.

There is a better way, of course: Two panels, 8 people each, the top eight in the polls split evenly by random draw into the two panels, to make sure that each panel has some of the Bigger Draws in it.

I don't understand why news networks, which live and die on free, easily-had news content, keep turning their noses up at free, easily-had news content.

And speaking of Jeb: It's hard to be a gangsta.

The bottom has fallen out for Jeb Bush. The newest poll of Iowa has Bush at 5 percent. He’s at 7 percent in New Hampshire and 9 percent in South Carolina. As recently as mid-July, Bush sat atop the Real Clear Politics national average, eight points ahead of his nearest competitor at 17.8 percent. Now, he trails Donald Trump and Ben Carson, in third at 9.7 percent.

Bush's well-documented weaknesses as a candidate -- perceived conservative heresies on immigration and Common Core, a politically inconvenient last name -- didn’t seem to be hurting him when he was on top seven weeks ago. So what explains his sudden slide?

And speaking of things with low energy:

The Dow lost five hundred points. Time for Obama to name another mountain by his own Edenic power to name shit.

And speaking of things that are primeval: Norm MacDonald has an uncanny ability to cut through bullshit and speak the truth.

posted by Ace at 05:49 PM

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