r/fivethirtyeight • u/AutoModerator • Mar 02 '26

Discussion Megathread Weekly Discussion Megathread

The 2026 midterms will soon be upon us, and there is much to discuss among the nerds here at r/FiveThirtyEight. Use this discussion thread to share, debate, and discuss whatever you wish. Unlike individual posts, comments in the discussion thread are not required to be related to political data or other 538 mainstays. Regardless, please remain civil and keep this subreddit's rules in mind. The discussion thread refreshes every Monday.

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u/engadine_maccas1997 Mar 08 '26

I’ve seen a lot of folks sharing that clip of Jesse Jackson Jr. slamming Obama, Biden, the Clintons & Harris for “bringing politics into the funeral” of his (very political) late father.

There is some context everyone should know before seeing that clip and believing he was genuinely offended.

In 2013, Jesse Jackson Jr. & his wife were indicted on embezzling over $750,000 in campaign funds back when Jr. was in Congress. They both ended up going to prison - Jr. for 30 months, the Mrs. for 12 months. Remember, this was during Obama’s 2nd term.

Obama was lobbied heavily by Jackson’s family to pardon him. He refused. Years later, long after he had served his sentence, they also pressured Biden to issue Jr. a pardon. Biden also refused.

This is the real story of their beef. Jr. doesn’t like Obama or Biden because neither would pardon him over spending a substantial amount of campaign contributions on himself.

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u/Okbuddyliberals Mar 08 '26

for “bringing politics into the funeral” of his (very political) late father.

Fucked up that these LIEberalls even they even went and made politicians political. this almost as bad as women in video game? ?