Originally a staple of Newsweek‘s print edition, Conventional Wisdom used arrows to track whose stock was rising or falling in the political circus. We’re reviving it in the digital age because the problem it lampooned—hyperbole and partisan certainty masquerading as insight—has only intensified.
CW assigns arrows—up, down, or sideways—to the figures and forces shaping current events. The arrows don’t predict the future or claim special insight. They capture the prevailing winds of the moment, uncluttered by tribal howling. In an era when partisan media reinforces rather than questions assumptions, CW operates from the center—skeptical of left and right alike, committed to puncturing inflated reputations and recognizing overlooked truths.
In this edition, CW has an election day special edition.
The New York Times ⬇
The Gray Lady once had one of the loudest voices in NYC local politics, especially on Democratic primaries, but the best you can say about this cycle is that it’s been thoroughly ignored. If the 2025 mayoral race has proven anything, it’s that the paper of record is now the view from Montclair.
Zohran Mamdani ⬅➡
He ran a thrilling campaign that electrified NYC progressives, but the young Democratic Socialist is about to learn, to paraphrase his opponent’s father, that while you can campaign in viral memes, you govern in tl;dr.
Hakeem Jeffries ⬇
It looks awfully lonely to announce on TV that Mamdani’s campaign is not the “future” of the Democratic Party when, at the very same moment, teams of the candidate’s canvassers were swarming the House Democratic leader’s Brooklyn district.
Curtis Sliwa’s Red Beret ⬆
Still on his head. Still losing in the polls. But the Guardian Angels founder has now run twice against Eric Adams and might deny Andrew Cuomo’s dream of City Hall. Brand consistency pays off.
Experience ⬇
After touting his decades in office, Cuomo says his biggest mistake was not enough social media. Whoever wins, assumptions about what matters in politics are taking a beating.
‘Oligarchy‘ ⬆
AOC and Bernie made it the Democratic rallying cry of 2025. Congratulations to a generation of political science professors whose lectures finally broke through.
House Moderates ⬇
With California’s Prop 50 likely to pass, Texas already gerrymandered, and Missouri and North Carolina following suit, the gerrymandering arms race has gone nuclear, and competitive congressional races, already an endangered species, are headed for an extinction-level event.
Sports Fans ⬆
Weeks of suffering broadcasts wallpapered with political attack ads finally end, and they get their games back interrupted only by beer and pizza commercials—just as nature intended.
