Author Topic: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign  (Read 4041 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline formerlurker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9692
  • Reputation: +801/-833
Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« on: November 14, 2012, 05:11:14 AM »
Quote
The Obama operation (code-named “Narwhal” for the Arctic whale with a long spiral tusk) merged “information collected from pollsters, fundraisers, field workers and consumer databases as well as social-media and mobile contacts with the main Democratic voter files in the swing states” into a single massive database, Time reported.

The Obama team then fed the data into advanced predictive models that allowed officials to target voters with specialized messages. For example, the Obama campaign could identify the Planned Parenthood supporters living within largely Christian Zip codes and send them e-mails about Romney’s “war on women” without the risk of alienating pro-life Reagan Democrats who might recoil from such language.

Narwhal also gave the Obama campaign unprecedented insight into how voters were moving as the campaign progressed. Polling organizations such as Gallup typically use a sample of 1,000 voters nationally to follow electoral trends. The Obama team developed a polling-data profile of 29,000 voters in Ohio alone and used this information to follow how various target groups were trending, how they responded to different messages and how events such as the presidential debates were moving the electorate — so they could respond effectively.

The system proved so accurate, Obama strategist David Axelrod declared, that “nothing happened on election night that surprised me — nothing. Every single domino that turned over was in keeping with the model that our folks had projected.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marc-thiessen-how-obama-trumped-romney-with-big-data/2012/11/12/6fa599da-2cd4-11e2-89d4-040c9330702a_story.html

Brilliant.   But I will say, I scratch my head on how he pulled this off without accessing government controlled data.

There is a story within this story.   

Offline BigTex

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 967
  • Reputation: +35/-135
Re: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2012, 10:33:23 AM »
Thats similar to what Karl Rove did in 2004.

Romney's voter program also weirdly named after a whale crashed on election day and left volunteers helpless.

Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism. -Kenny Powers

Offline thundley4

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 40571
  • Reputation: +2222/-127
Re: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2012, 11:50:49 AM »
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marc-thiessen-how-obama-trumped-romney-with-big-data/2012/11/12/6fa599da-2cd4-11e2-89d4-040c9330702a_story.html

Brilliant.   But I will say, I scratch my head on how he pulled this off without accessing government controlled data.

There is a story within this story.   

Maybe there was a reason that the 2010 census forms had so many intrusive questions.  It was to help the Obama campaign.

Offline formerlurker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9692
  • Reputation: +801/-833
Re: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2012, 11:57:31 AM »
Maybe there was a reason that the 2010 census forms had so many intrusive questions.  It was to help the Obama campaign.

I can't remember the questions at all, but honestly?  absolutely.    Elizabeth Warren's daughter sued states to make them send voter registration forms with welfare documents.

I think I see a pattern here.


Offline formerlurker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9692
  • Reputation: +801/-833
Re: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2012, 11:59:44 AM »
Thats similar to what Karl Rove did in 2004.

Romney's voter program also weirdly named after a whale crashed on election day and left volunteers helpless.



We have a former state treasurer facing jail time for using his office to help his run for governor.    I believe this is a story worth pursuing.


Offline BigTex

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 967
  • Reputation: +35/-135
Re: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2012, 07:33:51 PM »
We have a former state treasurer facing jail time for using his office to help his run for governor.    I believe this is a story worth pursuing.



I think the source of the info is worth questioning, I was just commenting on the strategy.
Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism. -Kenny Powers

Offline CG6468

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11493
  • Reputation: +540/-210
Re: Obama’s ‘Moneyball’ campaign
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2012, 08:56:04 AM »
To what census form so you refer? The one that went immediately into my burn pile?  :fuelfire:
Illinois, south of the gun controllers in Chi town