"atmospheric," n.

[Jonathan Lighter]

Here's a presumably accurate transcript of the entire quote from Candy
Crowley:

http://newamericatoday.com/na/2010/06/062710-cnn-state-of-the-union-transcript.html
  :

I know pollsters, and certainly we at CNN have always looked at the right
track, wrong track poll, as a pretty good indicator of how an election is
going to go. And here's the NBC/"Wall Street Journal" right track/wrong
track. Right direction, 29 percent, wrong track, 62 percent. That's not the
best atmospheric for Democrats.

JL

On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 6:18 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "atmospheric," n.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Am I right to assume that "...the single poll number is probably *not*
> important by itself..." was intended?
>
> I like the word "atmospherics". It suggests the temporary and ethereal
> character of many of the factors that create the political environment
> at a point in time, while leaving the possibility that they can
> contribute to a longer term political climate.
>
> DanG
>
> On 6/27/2010 5:10 PM, Dave Wilton wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dave Wilton<dave at WILTON.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: "atmospheric," n.
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Normally you see it in the plural, "atmospherics." It is actually quite
> > common in marketing and political circles, and I'm surprised that
> > dictionaries haven't picked it up.
> >
> > Atmospherics are the general ambience, mood, and background that
> influence
> > opinion. So Crowley is saying that the single poll number is probably
> > important by itself, but it will be one of many factors contributing to a
> > negative opinion of the Democrats.
> >
> > See:
> >
> > "Atmospherics [...] elements of store's ambience, which can be studied
> and
> > controlled by a retailer to influence  the consumer's buying mood."
> > http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/atmospherics.html
> >
> > "I've always wanted to get a feel for the physical and psychic landscape
> of
> > the time [...] in other words, the "atmospherics" of a situation.
> > http://www.jonhassell.com/atmosindex.html
> >
> > "Ads and Atmospherics. Outdoor campaigns are suddenly hip."
> > http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070201/salesmarketing-advertising.html
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
> Of
> > Douglas G. Wilson
> > Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 10:09 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: "atmospheric," n.
> >
> > Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >
> >> ....
> >> "An element in the climate of political opinion."
> >>
> >> CNN's Cindy Crowley this morning referred to a poll number that was "not
> >>
> > the
> >
> >> sort of atmospheric that Democrats like." (A close paraphrase.)
> >>
> >> Cf., of course, "statistic."
> >>
> > --
> >
> > I suspect maybe "atmospheric" might be an error for "stratospheric [poll
> > number]" meaning "very high [poll number]".
> >
> > -- Doug Wilson
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> >
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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