Silver: Only 5 States Matter Now

Nate Silver was right on the Rays; he's now calling the presidency

(NEWSER) - Give the sheer number of political polls being produced, and the history of many of them proving wrong, it takes a seriously smart statistician (and something of a nerd) to predict the presidential race with any authority. Nate Silver, the man who "revolutionized the interpretation of baseball stats," is both, and he's doing it again with politics, on his site FiveThirtyEight, New York magazine reports. More»

McCain team wrote 'palling around with terrorists' line: book

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin was actually on message when she attacked Barack Obama’s relationship with former Weatherman Bill Ayers during last year's campaign, the Atlantic reports. A new book, The Battle for America, reveals that Palin received an email from top McCain staff suggesting she use the Ayers attack. It even specified the approved language. Strategists also planned to run a similar TV ad. More»

Last state to be called leaves tally at Obama 365, McCain 173

(NEWSER) - Missouri, the last state up for grabs, looks to have gone Republican by less than a 1% margin, leaving John McCain with 173 electoral votes to Barack Obama’s 365, the Kansas City Star reports. There are still 3,000 uncounted provisional ballots, but McCain’s margin is large enough to declare him the winner of the state’s 11 electoral votes. More»

(NEWSER) - President-elect Barack Obama addressed the country and the world for the first time tonight, vowing to unite a nation beset by trouble at home and abroad, the Chicago Tribune reports. "Change has come to America," Obama told a crowd of tens of thousands at Chicago's Grant Park and millions more watching around the world. "Our stories are singular, but our destinies are shared." More»

Early results likely to set tone

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama won the crucial battleground states of Florida, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to clinch victory over John McCain and secure his place in history, MSNBC reports. The 47-year-old Illinois senator will become the nation's first black president when he succeeds George W. Bush in January. Obama reached the 270 electoral votes needed at 11pm ET when he won the states of California, Washington, and Oregon. More»