538
Nate Silver is a self-described nerd who moved to writing about politics after a career in crunching baseball statistics. He delves deeply into polling data and dwells in the rarefied realm of forecast models.
The results may be a bit geeky for some readers. But Silver is a lively writer and thinker, and the 538 blog (named for the number of Electoral College votes) is adept at both catching political waves and describing the nature of such waves. That means Silver is sometimes wrong (“National Polls Suggest Romney Is Overwhelming Favorite for GOP Nomination,” on Jan. 19); or right at that nanosecond (“New Florida Polls Show Big Swing to Gingrich”) before events break the other way (Gingrich falls behind in the Florida primary). Sometimes the blog ventures into analysis (“The Myth of ‘Anybody But Romney’”), and at other moments into media criticism, with Silver arguing that the press coverage of such-and-such an issue is wrong.
This isn’t a first read for political junkies, but a deeper read for those who have consumed plenty of punditry elsewhere. With almost daily updates, the material usually feels fresh.
You might also like:
Comments
Latest Posts
Stephen Colbert’s Congressional Candidate Sister
January 19th, 2013One of the ongoing gags of Stephen Colbert’s television show is the Comedy Central star’s constant willingness to float runs for public office. Colbert has started a SuperPAC, run for President and, most recently, campaigned for an appointment to the US Senate seat vacated by Jim DeMint’s retirement. These have all been in good fun. No one ever expected to see the comedian leaving his late night show for elected office. It was all a gag. But now Colbert’s sister is running for Congress and she’s dead serious about it.
A California Entrepreneur’s Take on Washington Gridlock
January 19th, 2013Andrew Nikou, chief executive of OpenGate Capital, talks about business and politics.
Watch: Armstrong Called Out By Wife of Ex-Teammate Live on CNN
January 18th, 2013Betsy Andreu, wife of Lance Armstrong’s former teammate Frankie Andreu, erupted on CNN after listening to Armstrong’s interview with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday. Mrs. Andreu was a guest on Anderson Cooper’s “AC360″ and appeared visibly upset with Lance’s lack of contrition.
Armstrong joked with Oprah during the interview that while he admitted to Andreu that he called her “crazy” and a “bitch,” he “never called her fat” – implying that guesture was some form of consolation. Watch Andreu react:
A Clash Over the Media and Beltway Gridlock at Daily Download Event
January 18th, 2013Michael Steele, the former Republican Party chairman, faulted his party for moving too far right–and said that breakneck media coverage “does a disservice to game shows.”
Lanny Davis, the former Clinton White House adviser, faulted President Obama for throwing “red meat” to his liberal base–and blamed the media for ignoring common-ground solutions.
And Howard Kurtz said the media provide incentives to political figures to make inflammatory attacks that receive wide coverage.
Crash: Lance Armstrong Emerges As Unlikable Liar Under Oprah Winfrey’s Prodding
January 18th, 2013Oprah Winfrey didn’t pussyfoot around.
She got Lance Armstrong to confess in the first minute.
It was a curiously unemotional moment, the prosecutor leading the witness through what seemed like well-rehearsed paces in a businesslike fashion.
Armstrong said he was sorry for all the years of lying, but he sounded like he was reading a shopping list. He may have been wearing a lavender shirt that Oprah’s violet dress, but the disgraced cycling champion was anything but colorful.
On her cable channel Thursday night, Winfrey wisely began with a series of yes-or-no questions that brought a decade of deception to an end.
Did Armstrong take banned substances? Yes. EPO? Yes. Blood transfusions? Yes. In winning all seven Tour de France titles? Yes.
If you changed the channel then, you didn’t miss much.
