Whet Moser

County by county in Illinois, Barack Obama picked up fewer votes in 2012 than in 2008, including in Cook and all the collar counties. But on a Congressional and state level, Illinois Democrats thrived, thanks in part to redistricting. Concerned? There's an idea, and an app, for that. Read more

Karl Rove's much-feared American Crossroads juggernaut was soundly whipped by the SEIU in the 2012 elections, by a score of 70-6. It's one of many big-money SuperPACs that got thrashed this season. The Citizens United decision poured tons of money into a billion-dollar cycle, but that wasn't a guarantee anyone would know what to do with it. Read more

The T-1000 poly-Mitt alloy who lost to Barack Obama last night is wide open to criticism for his Teflon, managerial ideology. But it raises the question if anyone could have done better, including consistently ideological Mitt Romneys from alternate universes. Read more

Latino support for the GOP presidential nominee is cratering—dropping ten percent per election since 2004. But it's nothing compared to the party's problem with Muslims, who used to be a small but growing pillar of the party with a natural affinity for its cultural and economic ideologies. Read more

Journalism made immense strides during the 2012 campaign in data gathering, analysis, and visualization, greatly expanding journalists' toolkit even as some were loathe to use these new tools. But it still pales in contrast to the knowledge and abilities of then campaigns these new tools are meant to pick apart. Read more

Research by a University of Chicago prof shows that our political parties aren't just divided red-blue down the aisle—each party has a centrist wing and a more ideologically pure wing, with a noticeable valley between the two. Read more

As you might guess, TV viewers often give Apple's visually engaging ads a pass from the DVR. How about political ads? Even though everyone claims to not like politicians, they're apparently more welcome on the TV than that omnipresent, insufferable little gecko. Read more

All eyes are on Ohio—but I'm interested in my home state, which has been polling in favor of Obama, who's got an 80 percent chance of winning. He looks like the favorite, but to win he'll have to maintain 2008's unlikely voting patterns. Read more