I don't have a link, probably because it has been many years since it happened, but I remember when the National Park Service announced it would no longer provide estimates of the various protests surrounding the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
The answer, of course, was obvious. No matter how the Park Service estimated the numbers, both sides would insist their crowds had been bigger than the "official number." This "underestimating" was always attributed to some nefarious plot (either liberal or conservative) to undermine whichever side was doing the complaining. I suppose the NPS decided it wasn't worth the annual headache to try to do the estimate.
The recent anti-American protests orchestrated by Moqtada al Sadr give us yet another example of the politics of estimation.
If you read the Associated Press or the New York Times, you were told that "tens of thousands" of Iraqis marched and told America to go home.
But as Gateway Pundit points out, even "tens of thousands" is far below the three million or "hundreds of thousands" Mookie & Co. were hoping for.
An aerial shot from Najaf, Iraq yesterday shows a protest of 5,000-7,000 Al-Sadr devotees rather than the 3,000,000 that was hoped for.
Gateway Pundit also points out that "it's too bad the 3,000 who protested against sectarian violence Saturday didn't get nearly the publicity.
But then, they weren't protesting against America. Which explains it. Doesn't it?
|