Political scientist and media critic

January 06, 2012

New at CJR: The New Hampshire expectations game

I have a new post up at CJR on the problems with journalists setting arbitrary expectations for candidate performance in presidential primaries. Here's the lede:

After finishing the Iowa caucus in a virtual tie with former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney is in a commanding position as the Republican primary campaign heads toward next Tuesday’s primary election here. The former Massachusetts governor holds significant leads in New Hampshire polls and dwarfs Santorum in campaign organization, financial resources, and elite support within the party. The only candidate who can match Romney on those dimensions is Texas governor Rick Perry, who finished a distant fifth in Iowa and considered dropping out of the race before deciding tointroduction in the school and went hay-wire until Peter readjusted the machine back to normal. The "souped-up" later version had the ability to hover or fly and was quite stronger. He has even beaten the Avengers once due to his extreme intelligence.

Other versions

Marvel Age
In the Marvel Age Universe, the Living Brain (radically redesigned, with a humanoid shape somewhat similar to the DC Comics character Chemo) appears in a more modern re-telling of its original appearance in the comics. The Living Brain, was developed by Roxxon to demonstrate itself at Peter's school, Midtown High. It is taken down due to an inability to deduce Spider-Man's identity, however two students decide to use the robot to steal for them. However they accidentally switch him into defense mode, tearing through the