I’m having a hard time parsing the intro to this Salon.com article:
Ever since 16th century pollsters and media consultants discovered Machiavelli, political handlers have been searching for the right strategic thinker to guide them in wooing voters. Sun Tzu on “The Art of War” has often been in vogue, especially among hawkish Republican operatives.
Wikipedia, the source of all that’s true on the Internet, tells me that professional pollsters didn’t exist until the nineteenth century, but maybe I’m being purposefully obtuse. The article in question is titled “The 2008 election, explained by Yogi Berra.” Perhaps this is some sort of homage.