Maybe this is a secret the rest of the world is in on already–the coverage on Google News would seem to confirm that–but through my friend Pete I just checked out FiveThirtyEight.com for the first time. What is it? An ambitious attempt to not only aggregate major poll results from all 50 states, but to analyze them as well. The information is deep and incredibly absorbing. And for bonus points, the guy who started it is a baseball statistician from Chicago, Nate Silver. (Newsweek wrote about him and the site back in June–well after he had become a sensation. Where I was at the time I can’t tell you.)
One example of the site’s excellent work: a look at Sarah Palin’s “real America”–a thorough breakdown of the racial makeup of the towns and cities she’s visiting compared to the ones in which Obama is appearing.
And while you consider what that analysis means, here’s a look at some of Palin’s real Americans in full cry:
There’s a great profile of Silver in the latest New York Magazine. He has a great track record — was right on in vote predictions during the primaries.
I had not been to FiveThirtyEight.com before…very interesting site. As for myself, I’ve become addicted to http://www.realclearpolitics.com of late. They are another polling aggregator.
The Fivethirtyeighters have some issues with the way Real Clear Politics does business.