I ended up 18th out of 41, not a great result, but I really think that by delaying my setup even by a few days at the start of the game, I lost momentum. Others that got their teams underway more quickly clearly had an advantage. So, lesson learned: start this kind of thing IMMEDIATELY.
On a fundamental level, I learned how the whole "fantasy game" thing works. I've heard about fantasy football and baseball but never knew what it was, so it was interesting to learn about the idea. But more importantly, from this particular game I learned that what goes on in Congress is much more detailed than I imagined. I don't know what I thought those folks do everyday, but it's more than I thought. I also enjoyed seeing some of the faces I listen to on the radio so often.
The game needs better instructions, though. It seems like the site expects that only real poli sci nerds are going to be interested, and they already understand all this stuff anyhow, so instructions only need be minimal. Perhaps the materials are there and just badly organized, I don't know, but I'm sure I would have done better if I'd been 100% confident about what I was doing.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Blog Entry #5
This article
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1573404/20071102/index.jhtml
from the MTV website (a surprisingly respectable news source) is about the popular talk-show host and political comedian Stephen Colbert, who announced recently on his show that he would run for president. Although he may have been saying it tongue firmly in cheek, it was clear he intended to actually run through the steps. His effort to get on the ballot, though, was stopped by the Democratic party in his home state of South Carolina. Why? To win the presidency, one must be on the ballot in all 50 states, and to achieve that takes a lot of money – hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars; funds the party considers better channeled to more “viable” candidates.
Current campaign laws consider anyone who raises $5000 to be a “serious” candidate, but the realities of elections dictate differently.
It’s interesting that we so often emphasize how “our (the average person’s) voices count”, but a man such as Colbert, who has a substantial following, was completely blown off by his own party. It really emphasizes for me how the intentions of our Constitution and laws are often trumped by the realities of politics.
The MTV article simply reports this as straight news and includes a little background on laws governing presidential campaigns as well as some quotes from Colbert and other people. Other articles, such as this one
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7074694.stm
from the BBC, included less straight info and more opinion quotes, especially from the members of the committee which rejected Colbert.
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1573404/20071102/index.jhtml
from the MTV website (a surprisingly respectable news source) is about the popular talk-show host and political comedian Stephen Colbert, who announced recently on his show that he would run for president. Although he may have been saying it tongue firmly in cheek, it was clear he intended to actually run through the steps. His effort to get on the ballot, though, was stopped by the Democratic party in his home state of South Carolina. Why? To win the presidency, one must be on the ballot in all 50 states, and to achieve that takes a lot of money – hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars; funds the party considers better channeled to more “viable” candidates.
Current campaign laws consider anyone who raises $5000 to be a “serious” candidate, but the realities of elections dictate differently.
It’s interesting that we so often emphasize how “our (the average person’s) voices count”, but a man such as Colbert, who has a substantial following, was completely blown off by his own party. It really emphasizes for me how the intentions of our Constitution and laws are often trumped by the realities of politics.
The MTV article simply reports this as straight news and includes a little background on laws governing presidential campaigns as well as some quotes from Colbert and other people. Other articles, such as this one
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7074694.stm
from the BBC, included less straight info and more opinion quotes, especially from the members of the committee which rejected Colbert.
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