The rumor du jour, that John Roberts was about to resign for health reasons, stems from a joke played by a Georgetown law professor on his class, according to Above the Law. The joke served a pedagogical point about informants and their sources. The whole thing is a fascinating tale of how quickly misinformation gets disseminated and taken as fact.
Meanwhile, in my American politics class next week, we’ll be discussing the presidency. If any rumors about Barack Obama’s physical well-being emerge at, say, 2:30 pm on Tuesday, I know nothing about them.
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“Taken as fact” is perhaps too strong? Maybe, “taken as a possibility”?
I guess the relevant question is: what are the relative costs of falling for a false rumor or passing on a true one?
John Sides to retire Monday from teaching to pursue a full time “career” as a blogger.
Andy: You’re right. I should have been a bit more circumspect.
Deep Throat: Shh!
If the economy tanks on Tuesday, I think we all know who to blame.
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