Given the popularity of 538, we can be pretty sure that Nate Silver will have a prominent role in ABC’s coverage of elections, at least in presidential years.
You know who else used to have a prominent role in ABC’s political coverage? Sometimes things do improve.
dr. bloor
I look forward to the Unskewed Polls guy’s debut at the Times. He’s the sort of guy that Brooksie, et. al. will be happy to have on board.
eric
yes, but now Nate does not have to pull punches the way Kthug seems to do with the Times Idiots,
Villago Delenda Est
Mark Halperin is first order scum.
There is no appropriate punishment for him in this universe. Nothing is cruel and painful and prolonged enough to even begin to compensate for his crimes.
bill d
I am old enough to remember when a gig with The New York Times would be the pinnacle of one’s career.
c u n d gulag
Nate got tired of the ego’s, the preening, the posturing, the strutting, the pointing to Heaven and thanking the Lord, the rampant sexism, and went back to covering sports.
And won’t it be fun to watch George F. Will’s bowtie spin like a kid’s beanie, when Krugman and Silver are on?
trollhattan
@c u n d gulag:
Will’s fallback tactic of citing baseball to illustrate his position is going to be pretty hazardous.
Keith G
Pundits are….well just pundits. And even the best ones are….. just pundits. Has ever the best play by play or color announcer influenced the game they are covering? Has George Will or Paul Krugman ever caused a vote to swing?
Yatsuno
@trollhattan: This is just me being cautiously optimistic, but I’m hoping Nate revives 538 with Sean and crew. I’m certain Sean has moved on to bigger and better things, plus Nate’s analysis was much more honest and direct on his own site. We done warned him that the Times would try to corrupt his work though.
c u n d gulag
@trollhattan:
OY!
“Men at Work” has to be the single worst fockin’ book ever written about the great sport of Baseball.
In it, Will displays the same complete lack of knowledge about that sport that he has on all other subjects, so I don’t know why I expected any better – but I figured, “How can anybody possibly write a bad book on Baseball?”
Now, I know!
Violet
@Keith G:
Probably not because they are in an announcer’s booth when the action is happening on the field. They’re just commenting on what they see.
Maybe because people read and listen to pundits before voting happens. Who knows what influences people.
? Martin
@c u n d gulag:
Maybe. But I think there’s a much more straightforward answer.
At 538 pre-NYT, Nate shut down between elections. At NYT, he still needs to be productive for the NYT to collect that check. That’s a lot of bullshit filler that I don’t think Nate has a lot of patience for, and he could be off doing the sports thing, which NYT has no patience for.
This appears to be a good setup for Nate where he can do both and get paid for both. It need not be any more than that.
c u n d gulag
@? Martin:
Oh, I can see that, now that you pointed it out.
And I’m happy for him – I was going for a cheap joke in that opening line, anyway. :-)
Keith G
@Violet: That’s your hunch. I think we probably could get numbers on that if one actually tried, but until then color me dubious. I bet a fleeting comment, or even a well argued epistle, from a distant coastal elite has scant influence compared to the torrents of communication having other origins.
Violet
@Keith G: Oh, I agree. I just think that the punditing has a better chance of influencing elections than color commentary does a sporting event. The athletes probably don’t even know what the commentators are saying. Pundits can drone on about all sorts of stuff prior to the “game” (election) happening and perhaps might influence voters.
I guess I don’t see your comparison as apples and apples because one happens during the game and the other happens before the “game”.
Omnes Omnibus
No, I can’t complain.
Omnes Omnibus
@Keith G: @Violet: Has a blog post or comment ever influenced your opinion on something? Probably only on the margin, but if one were on the fence on an issue or between candidates an opinion piece could certainly sway a person.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus: They’ve gotten me to donate money to candidates I might not otherwise have donated to. Does that count as influencing?
Omnes Omnibus
@Violet: I would say yes.
The Red Pen
Damn straight, and the next step is death camps.
Wait…
John S.
@? Martin:
That’s exactly how I saw it, and it’s a great move for Silver. He doesn’t need to churn out tendentious crap for his paymasters and gets to do what he loves.
Where can I sign up for a gig like that?
fuckwit
@? Martin: Makes sense. When in doubt, follow the money. NYT wants content, and Nate probably ain’t getting paid unless he provides it. There ain’t much polling between elections, so what do they do for money? Sports, alas, is evergreen.