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To: Twotone

In the wiki for Pauline Kael there is this —

“In December 1972, a month after U.S. President Richard Nixon was reelected in a landslide, Kael gave a lecture at the Modern Language Association during which she said: “I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they [Nixon’s other supporters] are I don’t know. They’re outside my ken. But sometimes when I’m in a theater I can feel them.”

Kael was subsequently misquoted as having said, “I can’t believe Nixon won. I don’t know anyone who voted for him” or something that similarly expressed surprise at the election result. This misquotation became an urban legend, and has been cited by conservatives (such as Bernard Goldberg, in his 2001 book Bias) as an example of insularity among the liberal elite.”

What’s interesting to me is that the left calls it a misquote for not stating precisely the words she said while missing the overall meaning. Kael said she knows only one person that voted for Nixon (a moderate Republican). That pretty much confirms she was a leftist for that period in time.


29 posted on 05/02/2026 4:57:13 PM PDT by plain talk
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To: plain talk
But sometimes when I’m in a theater I can feel them

At least she didn't say she could smell them, as Harry Reid did.

35 posted on 05/02/2026 5:21:19 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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