Jonathan Last: “No matter who the nominees are, the chances of one major-party candidate beating another don’t get much further apart than 65-35. That is the reality of our system, no matter how strong the one is and how weak the other is.”
“If you’re playing 1,000 hands of blackjack you feel awesome about 65-35 odds. But for a one-time outcome? When the stakes are high? Even 65-35 is equivalent to a coin flip and it ought to scare the crap out of you.”
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.