From: noring@netcom.com (Jon Noring)
Subject: Let's Clarify This a Little (was Re: A Clinton Mandate?!?)
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 23:19:59 GMT

In article jwh@citi.umich.edu writes:
>In article gsmith@lauren.uucp (Gene W. Smith) writes:
>|> In article gak@wrs.com writes:

>|> >What this tells me is that FIFTY-SEVEN PERCENT of the voters do not
>|> >believe that Bill Clinton should be President.
>|> 
>|> Don't be an idiot.  At most it means that at least 57% thought someone
>|> else would be better.  Presumably, if everyone got to pick the person
>|> they thought would be the best choice out of anybody at all, Clinton
>|> would come in even lower.  But if 2% would rather the Pope was
>|> President, that wouldn't mean they thought Clinton shouldn't be.  They
>|> might have voted for him and still have preferred Clinton.
>|> 
>|> Moreover, you are ignoring the protest vote factor.  Some people voted
>|> for Perot who wouldn't have if they thought he might win.

>None of what you have said disputes the comment that Clinton did
>*NOT* receive a mandate.  57% didn't think that Clinton should
>be president and a certain percentage of those who voted for Clinton
>were really voting against Bush.  It would have been interesting
>to see how None Of The Above would have fared in this election.
>Clinton was the most popular choice among all candidates running.
>This is the most that can be said about his victory.


Let's clarify this.  Read this carefully, read this three times until you
understand what is says and what it doesn't say:

According to some polls taken just before the election, where the voter
was asked the following question:  "Who would you LIKE to see become the
President", anywhere from 52 to 57% of the voters said "Perot".  Period.

Perot is not the Pope.  The Pope was not on the ballot, but Perot was.
Perot was the first "wish" of the electorate as President (I don't know who
came in second or third, though).  This cannot be denied unless one can
show that these polls were flawed (one was done scientifically by CNN who
decided not to air the results since it would "confuse" the electorate!).

Why is Perot not now selecting his Cabinet?  Because a large number of voters
use the principle of "strategic" voting, rather than "ideological" (or voting
your conscience).  I covered what I thought of that in a prior post.

Anyway, the second (or third) wish of the people, and not the first, will
occupy the White House the next four years.  But the voters have spoken,
the bastards! (a famous quote)  :^)

Jon Noring


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