Your Grammar Nazi

Jon Weiner at The Nation:

Even in Massachusetts, where Obama’s margin of victory was 61 percent, Romney increased the Republicans’ proportion of the white vote by four percentage points over 2008.

Wrong!

Almost every journalist is innumerate when it comes to percentages.  There's no such thing as a "margin of victory" expressed as a percentage. Obama's "margin of victory" was 22 points - the difference or "margin" between his 61 percent of the vote and Romney's 39 percent of the vote.

You can say Obama's "share of the vote" was 61 percent, or that his "winning percentage" was 61, but you cannot say his margin of victory was 61 percent.

 

You cannot even say "his margin of victory was 22 percent." His margin of victory was 22 points, not 22 percent.

 

This is fifth-grade math, people. How can you possibly follow Nate Silver intelligently if you don't get  percentages?