First of all, I think it's odd that people who cover politics wouldn't have any political views.

In politics people build whole reputations off of getting one thing right.

When a possibility is unfamiliar to us, we do not even think about it.

When you get into statistical analysis, you don't really expect to achieve fame. Or to become an Internet meme. Or be parodied by 'The Onion' - or be the subject of a cartoon in 'The New Yorker.' I guess I'm kind of an outlier there.

If you're keeping yourself in the bubble and only looking at your own data or only watching the TV that fits your agenda then it gets boring.

If the state polls are right, then Mr. Obama will win the Electoral College. If you can't acknowledge that after a day when Mr. Obama leads 19 out of 20 swing-state polls, then you should abandon the pretense that your goal is to inform rather than entertain the public.

I've become invested with this symbolic power. It really does transcend what I'm actually doing and what I actually deserve.