Bush's Ohio Win Was Closer Than Thought

AP ^ | 12/3/04

[Shryke]

will be about 119,000 votes smaller than the unofficial margin of 136,000,

Uh, that means Bush WON by 17,000 votes??? This writer is awful.

[frog_jerk_2004]

That means Kerry drew closer by about 17,000 votes.

With a little more money and legal rangling, I bet Kerry could have dwindled it down a little more. Hey, wait, maybe Jesse can "find" a few more votes! These people are real losers!

[atomicpossum]

What a slanted headline. AP does it again.

[Huck]

Bush's margin of victory in the state that put him over the top in his re-election bid will be about 119,000 votes smaller than the unofficial margin of 136,000, the county election board figures showed. That means Kerry drew closer by about 17,000 votes.

Am I the only one who thinks this sentence was written with Escher-like grammar?

[orionblamblam]

> Bush's margin of victory in the state that put him over the top in his re-election bid will be about 119,000 votes smaller than the unofficial margin of 136,000, the county election board figures showed. That means Kerry drew closer by about 17,000 votes.

Wait. What? If the margin was originally 136k, and it's now 119K smaller, doesn;t that mean the margin is now 17k? Or are they saying that the original margin of 136K was reduced by 17K, and is now 119k?

[JennysCool]

The Kerry campaign said it is not disputing the outcome of the presidential race, but wants to make sure any recount is "done accurately and completely."

The perfect coda to their whole flip-floppy campaign.

[orionblamblam]

Nope...

[alessandrofiaschi]

They are busy in WA now!

[RtWngr]

Wow. Somebody send this guy a colon or a dash or something. Where did he learn to write?

[RockinRight]

Should have been:

will be about 119,000 votes--smaller than the unofficial margin of 136,000

if typed correctly.

[NRA1995]

In DUmmieland, no one can hear you scream.......

[Huck]

Or does it mean Kerry lost by 119K, not 136K, meaning he was 17K closer to winning that earlier thought, but still 119K off? I can't tell from the tortured wording.

[Not A Snowbird]

I guess the author flunked "Commas Are Your Friends 101".

[Gaetano]

commas are a good thing when used correctly.

[Brilliant]

"Bush's margin of victory in the state that put him over the top in his re-election bid will be about 119,000 votes smaller than the unofficial margin of 136,000, the county election board figures showed. That means Kerry drew closer by about 17,000 votes..."

Hmmm... Seems like the AP editors ought to think about repeating Second Grade.

[dirtboy]

Uh, that means Bush WON by 17,000 votes??? This writer is awful.

You are assuming that the writer used misleading writing by mistake instead of purposefully.

[NRA1995]

"Bush's margin of victory in the state that put him over the top in his re-election bid will be about 119,000 votes smaller than the unofficial margin of 136,000, the county election board figures showed. That means Kerry drew closer by about 17,000 votes."

Amazing how a missed comma between "votes" and "smaller" changes a sentence

[Shryke]

Not at all, good sir. The term awful applies well to both situations, no?

[siunevada]

This writer is awful.

And the editor is no great shakes either.

I guess it should have been:

votes. Smaller......

Maybe they've fired their editors and just rely on SpellCheck.