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I Don't Believe This Weekend's Scary Poll Numbers (www.esquire.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
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That poll putting Trump ahead of Biden in all the major battleground states sure looks terrifying, but there's never been an election more clouded by the unknown than this one.

A week after Halloween and the scary monsters are still abroad in the land.

Scary polls!

Scary plans!

Boogedy, boogedy!

It was a great weekend for intellectual doomscrolling, to say nothing of galloping paranoia. First, The New York Times comes out with a poll that shows the president is trailing Fulton County (Ga.) Inmate No. PO1135809 in all the major battleground states.

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[–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

That point is that 100% of past presidents won their elections.

Thus, picking a candidate with a successful track record is usually the safer bet than picking someone who has not won an election. That is why incumbents are usually chosen by default.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Thus, picking a candidate with a successful track record is usually the safer bet than picking someone who has not won an election.

    Well both candidates have won elections, and both candidates have lost elections. The only difference is Trump has one loss in the genral while Biden has near half a dozen in primaries. I don't think the comparison is nearly as black and white as successful track record.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I wasn't comparing Biden and Trump, I was comparing Biden and any other potential Democratic candidate. The incumbent is almost always the safer bet than fielding someone new because they've been tried and tested.

    As for Trump, all bets are off. He lost once against Biden and they're going to put him up against Biden again. Conventional wisdom would suggest that is just about the stupidest tactic you could do. But it's clear that all wisdom left the Republican party long ago.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Im gonna say the fact that biden is in the oval office as trump throws toddler tantrums in a courtroom shows the opposite.

    I mean, I feel like it was easy for me to think you were. All I'm saying is if winning an election is the bar, then there's not many conclusions you can draw for the general that way since they've both won. The head to head is more important, as you've said. But still that doesn't mean Biden is a good candidate since the only time he won, in about half a dozen attempts, was against one of the worst candidates of all time. Biden is a better candidate than Trump sure, but so was Hillary and that didn't help her.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    That wasn't me.

    But fine, let's compare Biden and Trump.

    Both have won presidential elections.
    Only one has lost a presidential election.
    Trump has not beaten Biden before.
    Biden has beaten Trump before.

    You're right that there aren't all that many conclusions we can draw. Hillary was a great candidate, and she failed while Biden won. So clearly picking the right candidate is not easy. Ultimately, only hindsight will tell if Biden was the right choice. But as far as predictions go, we've got some solid data and a proven track record that shows he can do it.

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