Addressing low quant GRE in personal statement?

[rainydaze]

Hello! I'm applying to top International Relations/Politics PhD programs upon the recommendation of my master's dissertation supervisor and undergraduate advisor. Unfortunately, I totally biffed it on my quant GRE, after 6 weeks of non stop studying, and got a 154. My verbal is 169. I've always had a problem performing well on standardized math tests, and the same thing happened with the SAT. My other application materials are all good (3.95 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa, independent research with professor from master's program, award winning senior thesis, master's from Cambridge in IR with full scholarship, three great recommenders.) Should I address my poor performance in the quant portion of the GRE in my personal statement by highlighting that I got A's in my undergraduate statistics course, my stats course in my master's program, and in all three of my economics classes in undergrad? What's the standard format for doing this without sounding too pathetic? Is it a terrible idea? My undergrad advisor mentioned this might be a good idea but I can't imagine how it would look when done well.  

[lovekilledinos]

Nah, I wouldn't. Your statement should be about how much of a badass you are! You don't want to tell them how you suck. What you can do is have one of you letter writers address it, if you're nervous about it. 

The GRE is not a measure of anything except how well you test on the GRE, after all.