Bias

Everyone knows where Megan McArdle stands politically, but it's still funny whenever someone puts their bias on full display.

Either Hoffman will lose, in which case the strategy of policing the party will lose some of its appeal, or he will win, in which case Blue Dog democrats and Republicans in squishy states will probably tack right--a critical win during the health care debate.

Now, try re-writing it slightly...

Either Hoffman will win, in which case the strategy of policing the party will gain some more appeal, or he will win, in which case Blue Dog democrats and Republicans in squishy states will probably tack left--a critical win during the health care debate.

These sentences both rely on the same basic idea: a Hoffman win pushes the country to the right, and a Hoffman loss pushes the country to the left. And yet the two sentences sound so different.