Can we Godwin this, too?

"The late film critic Pauline Kael is reported to have said that Nixon couldn't have won because she didn't know anybody who voted for him."

I suppose this is a conservative trope-wouldn't make too much sense for the bedwetters to trot it out-but regardless, I'm a bit tired of hearing it, especially when it's namby-pamby crouched in I-don't-think-she-ever-really-said-it "reportedly" crap.

LAGuy adds: Actually, I've long thought about writing on this quote, but didn't want to do the research. I've read most of Pauline Kael's published work (as well as a book of interviews she'd given), and while it wouldn't surprise me if she voted for McGovern, this doesn't really sound like her. In fact, she attacked a number of Hollywood films pretty harshly from a conservative, or at least libertarian, viewpoint. In particular, I recommend her lengthy discussion of Hud in I Lost It At The Movies.

As a side-note, I remember when George Bush was behind Michael Dukakis in the polls by 17 points. It was reported to me that someone who worked in a major law firm, someone ColumbusGuy knows, said Bush will win because everyone he knows is voting for him. Turned out to be good analysis.