Walking backwards up the mountain

A short vacation dispatch

All,

I have not posted to you in a week. This is a profound aberration for me, both because I promised you a post and because writing is how I process reality. Have I not had anything to process publicly? Have I not thought anything that is relevant to my audience?

Well, yes and no. I should say upfront that I have nothing to write about politics or polling today — not because nothing comes to mind, but because I don’t want to. If you are looking for an analysis of the recent mayoral primary in New York or comments on recent Supreme Court rulings, you can send this letter to your archives. Instead, I want to reflect on how I work; why I do the job I do, and what I find rewarding about it. I think the answer may surprise you.

Doing political statistics — loosely defined — has a straightforward enough appeal. Once acquainted with social science methods, it is impossible not to see imperfections in commentary and analysis of politics and the news, and to want to correct our collective unde…