When you get the time, you should check out Gawker’s hilarious takedown of University of Virginia political scientist (and preening pundit) Larry Sabato. Here’s the key bit:
One of the many gimmicks that Sabato uses to make it appear as though he knows what he’s talking about is his “Crystal Ball,” in which he calls election outcomes. He’s boasted of a 98% accuracy rate when it comes to predicting congressional races, which means almost nothing when you consider that in 2008, 94% of incumbents were re-elected. One incumbent who wasn’t re-elected in 2008, however, was Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.), who happens to be Sabato’s own congressman. And an old buddy from law school his college days. And, Politico reports, the congressman who has directed about $1.4 million in annual earmarks to Sabato’s Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. But last year Sabato, the expert prognosicator who actually works in Goode’s district, called that particular race wrongly—he said Goode was going to win, but challenger Thomas Perriello defeated him. Not that the $1.4 million-a-year bonus that Goode was sending Sabato’s way would influence his punditry.
Gawker has discovered what most of us already know: Larry Sabato kind of sucks.
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