Cheat Sheet

In the next few weeks the nation will watch raptly as baseball players and politicians both strive to reach their base. The most recent issue of New York has a fascinating profile of Nate Silver, a baseball statistics geek turned political pollster who has proved himself something of an oracle in both fields. As a writer for Baseball Prospectus, Silver showed a talent for upending the received wisdom. As a pollster he has outfoxed some venerable rivals, nailing the primaries in Indiana and North Carolina; his website, fivethirtyeight.com, has become a must-read for those following the ebb and flow of the election. The article makes clear that Silver has a candidate—Obama all the way—but that his ultimate goal is refreshingly non-partisan: poll smarter.