Friday, December 27, 2013

How Accurate Were Our Predictions For 2013?

Following are our predictions for 2013 that we posted last year at this time.
Let's see how accurate we were:

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will easily be re-elected to a second term in a Garden State romp. This will well position Christie for a 2016 presidential run and slowly, many conservatives will forgive him what they perceive as transgressions and he will emerge as a formidable presidential contender. CORRECT!

Many will try to position Christie and Florida Senator Marco Rubio as the left and right of the party, respectively but both men will deny that, aim more for the middle and say they actually like each other. MOSTLY CORRECT.
 
The movie Silver Linings Playbook will emerge as the big sleeper in the Oscar race and will at the least garner a statuette for Jennifer Lawrence. CORRECT!

Look for Anne Hathaway to lead the pack for the Best Actress Oscar in Les Miserables with top Oscar categories running neck and neck between Les Miz and Lincoln. Look for Daniel Day Lewis to prevail for Lincoln. CORRECT!

Tommy Lee Jones is likely to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Lincoln. WRONG. 

Oil prices will drop for awhile in 2013 and this will help stimulate the economy. CORRECT!

Unemployment for the year 2013 will still remain above 7%. CORRECT!

The Philadelphia Phillies will have a somewhat better year than last year but things will still be difficult. They will not make it to the World Series. ONE CORRECT! ONE WRONG.

The Eagles will dump Andy Reid and Michael Vick. ONE CORRECT! ONE WRONG.

Jimmy Fallon's star will continue to rise and he may prove (one way of another) to be a formidable threat to Jay Leno. CORRECT!

CNN will continue to struggle in the ratings category as it tries to find a niche for itself. Piers Morgan will stir up more controversy and his tenure with the network may become precarious. CORRECT!

Much speculation will revolve around Hillary Clinton and her future plans but Hillary will hold back, refusing to show her hand. This will create a leadership vacuum in the Democrat Party going forward as Obama will be a lame duck, concerns will arise over the well-being of Joe Biden and others will be reluctant to step up until Hillary makes up her mind about 2016. CORRECT!

The GOP leaders in the House and Senate (Boehner and McConnell) will face serious challenges from within their own party and many will call on them to step down as they increasingly appear to be out-of-touch spokespersons who are not reflective of the future of the party and the country. CORRECT!

The NHL will cancel the 2012-2013 hockey season. WRONG.

Major TV network news programs and traditional print news sources will continue to lose followers, ads and revenue. More newspapers will bite the dust. The Philadelphia Daily News may not survive. ONE CORRECT! ONE WRONG.

Speculation will continue to swirl around Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter especially as potential successors begin to strategize. The mayor will once again be tempted to take a post with the Obama administration or some other high-profile job. He may consider serving as president of an academic powerhouse or think tank. SOMEWHAT CORRECT.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels will have another great season. WRONG.

By the end of 2013 Newark mayor Cory Booker will make it clear that he will go for the Senate seat held by Democrat Frank Lautenberg but (despite pressure from party leaders) Lautenberg will seem to ignore pleas that he step aside. CORRECT! -- Though we did not predict Lautenberg's death.

California and/or Illinois will go bankrupt. WRONG.

The NRA, Michelle Bachmann and Tea Party activists will not disappear. This will delight the Democrats and present somewhat of a quandry for the GOP and its increasingly strong bench including budding presidential contenders. CORRECT!

Republicans will signal that they are willing to accept some additional gun control provisions but Democrats will overplay their hand by demanding all-out banning of certain types of guns and arms. This will muddy the waters and may create a stalemate. CORRECT!

Americans will begin to feel the effects of Obamacare and they won't appreciate the growing ramifications. CORRECT!

The United States Supreme Court will say that gay "marriage" can stand in the states where it has been legalized, suggesting that the matter be left to the states. This will prove to be a partial victory (if that) and will satisfy no one. ONE CORRECT! ONE WRONG.

Hugo Chavez and/or Fidel Castro will expire. CORRECT!

Compassionate conservative will re-emerge in the GOP but with a new name as new faces step forward. CORRECT!

If you actually work for a living, taxes will take more of your money in 2013 than in 2012. CORRECT!

Facial hair will continue to be "in" for men, furthering a trend. CORRECT!

Indigo will be one of the big colors of the year, setting a rich new fashion trend. CORRECT!

Contrary to popular belief (or what Big Media would have you believe) the Republican Party will not fade away in 2013 but rather will re-emerge with many new faces and a younger, fresher, multi-cultural hue. CORRECT!

The Jersey shore will have one of its biggest summers ever on the strength of a huge post-Sandy "comeback" campaign that plays on nostalgia, empathy and surprising new attractions. WRONG.

New York Mayor Bloomberg (aka Nanny Bloomers) will threaten to form a third party. WRONG.

Musical versions of well-known movie hits will continue to dominate on Broadway. In fact, look for the musical Rocky to head to the Great White Way. CORRECT!

The underrated "sexiest man alive" Channing Tatum will finally begin to be taken seriously as the fine actor that he really is. CORRECT!

A scandal involving another woman will jolt a major Philadelphia politician. WRONG.

The retro-sixties trend in fashion and decor will begin to fade. CORRECT!

Developers will be forced to continue to build apartment projects as the condo market will not yet fully rebound. If an when a real turnaround occurs in the housing market these apartment can still be converted to ownership units. CORRECT!

Cable TV will face new threats as cheaper access to the internet pushes more and more viewers into on-demand and pay-per-view viewing through alternate services. You'll watch what you want when you want to watch it and pay as you go. CORRECT!

Libraries will cut hours and buy fewer printed books as e-books take over and more people borrow or buy books electronically. This will trigger a demand by Democrats to make e-readers available to everyone below a certain income level with accompanying free access to such books. WRONG.

Reality TV shows will falter as the trend finally starts to lose steam. People will tire of the strained drama and lingering monotony of these cheap, phony excuses for entertainment. WRONG.

And one, fun bonus prediction: Liberals will continue to call themselves "progressive" but discriminating citizens will not be fooled. CORRECT!

So, if we eliminate the "mostly" and "somewhat" ratings and focus simply on the "correct" and "wrong" numbers, that gives us 28 correct and 12 wrong -- or 28 out of 40 correct predictions. That's a solid 70% accuracy rate, folks. We'll take it!

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