02 November 2010

Understanding Christine O'Donnell

When one looks at the craziness out there, why is it that Christine O'Donnell appears to get the lion's share of the attention?

Well Matthew Yglesias has a good explanation:
That’s true, but I think there’s more in play, namely logistics. The Alaska Senate race should be excellent copy. Joe Miller is nuts, Scott McAdams is fascinatingly amateurish, the Palin-Murkowski feud is interesting, everyone likes to talk about Sarah Palin, etc. But Alaska is also cold and remote. Sending a reporter there would be expensive and annoying. The time zones are inconvenient. By contrast, Wilmington is a 2 hour drive or 90 minute train ride from both Washington, DC and New York City. So if you want to get some “real reporting” done it’s convenient. And logistics count in life.
I would note that even some place less remote, like Angle in Nevada, or Paladino in New York, or McMahon in Connecticut, they were also much less willing to expose themselves to the press.

Basically, if you wanted to cover "the crazy," it was easier, and cheaper, to cover Ms. O'Donnell.

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