Ytorbati
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Obama buzz fills empty campus
Before most undergraduates had even returned to New Haven from their winter breaks, Yale’s campus was already buzzing with campaign organizing in the run-up to what some have called “super-duper Tuesday” on Feb. 5, when 24 states are scheduled to hold their primary elections. Hundreds of Connecticut supporters, grass-roots organizers and campaign officials for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign convened Saturday morning at Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center to urge locals to get involved in the Illinois freshman’s campaign in the remaining weeks before Connecticut’s primary.
Af-Am house plays host to Obama CT kickoff event
NEW HAVEN, Conn. 4:25 p.m. — Although most undergraduates have yet to return from winter break, Yale’s campus is already buzzing with campaign organizing in the run-up to what some have called “super-duper Tuesday” on Feb. 5, when 24 states are scheduled to hold their primary elections. Hundreds of Connecticut supporters, grassroots organizers and campaign officials of Senator Barack Obama’s campaign for president convened this morning at Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center to urge locals to get involved in the Illinois freshman’s campaign in the remaining weeks before Connecticut’s primary.
Game theorist Fox: Voting is irrational
NORMAN, Okla., 5:50 p.m. — Considering what many voters perceive as the often disingenuous, self-interested and intricate nature of modern political campaigns, it is no surprise that game theorists — those who study strategic interactions between agents — have turned to American politics as a field ripe with opportunities for analysis. Yale’s own Justin Fox, a professor in the Political Science Department, applies microeconomics to his study of the interactions between politicians and voter behavior. In a phone interview with the News on Monday, he illuminated some of the more interesting applications of game theory in the current campaign season. Fox started by explaining the role of fundraising and interest groups in politicians’ stands on major issues. A typical academic paper may explain how politicians find it in their interest to alter their positions in order to attract more money, he said. “There may not be any explicit corruption going on, but … the fundraising is distorting how politicians behave,” Fox said. So, according to game theory, it is demonstrably rational to alter one’s behavior in order to bring in more money. But what role does public opinion play? What about politicians like Mitt Romney, who has been accused of changing his positions to make himself more palatable to the Republican electorate? “I think people see through it, right? I think that’s why he has trouble getting traction —it’s too obvious,” Fox said. “Giuliani’s sort of doing the same thing, but I think it looks less artificial. I don’t think there’s any good data on whether public opinion is a stronger determinant of a candidate’s position than the ability to raise campaign funds. Candidates are going to face tradeoffs when balancing these two goals.”
PoliSci professor Hancock still undecided after Iowa
NORMAN, Oklahoma, 6:20 p.m. — For assistant professor in Political Science Ange-Marie Hancock, Barack Obama's resounding win over third-place Hillary Clinton LAW '73 in Iowa last night is big news — it is a historical moment, she says — but it hasn't made her decision as a voter any easier. "Honestly, right now I am square in the middle between Obama and Clinton," she says with a laugh during a phone interview.
Marmor: Obama, Edwards, Clinton can all reform healthcare system
NORMAN, Oklahoma, 10:45 a.m. — I didn't think I would have a reading assignment while on winter break. Then again, I also hadn't planned on interviewing Ted Marmor. I wanted the School of Management and political science professor's opinion on the presidential candidates' positions on healthcare. Marmor, after all, has testified before Congress on healthcare reform, served on President Jimmy Carter's Commission on the National Agenda and published reams of articles and books on the subject. If anyone is an expert, he is. But first I had to acquaint myself. In 'The Politics of U.S. Health System Reform,' Marmor traces the history of the impact of politics on healthcare reform, calling it a story of "long-term aspiration and deep frustration." The main obstacle to reform Marmor emphasizes is the limit of political feasibility: the harsh resistance of Republicans and the lack of commitment of Democrats. Having earned my phone interview, Marmor and I spoke early on the Friday morning following the Iowa caucus elections. Are any of the three leading Democratic candidates capable of causing the necessary ideological shift in Washington to substantially reform the U.S. health system? "All three of them — Obama and Edwards even more than Clinton," Marmor says. "Obama and Edwards have a more powerful rhetorical voice on behalf of those people in trouble in America. [Hillary] is a more manipulative, less appealing moral leader."