FiveThirtyEight.com

I have another blog, where I (used to?) write about baseball. Anybody who has read the SeaBlog realizes that I really love statistics. One of the baseball analysis sites that I really like is BaseballProspectus.com, with its best-in-the-business player performance projection system, named PECOTA.

Well, PECOTA creator Nate Silver has turned his projecting genius to politics. The results of his labors can be found at the delicious FiveThirtyEight.com. 538 (representing the total electoral votes available in the presidential election) arrives rife with colorful maps, charts and graphs. But data on it's own is dry and can be overwhelming and inaccessible. Luckily, Nate and crew accompany the data with well-written insight and analysis. The 538 formula proved to be Best In Show for the primary season, and it looks real strong for the Presidential race. Barack Obama is currently installed as a 19:1 favorite to take the White House in a couple of weeks.

Reading 538, I was directed to the Tax Cut Calculator at AlchemyToday.com. The methodology is very transparent, and it shows that, despite the McCain rhetoric, most of us will be better off under Obama's proposed tax plan. So we can all breathe easier. Even Joe the Plumber, who it might be added is in no danger of making $250,000 annually at the moment.