Full FeedYouTube’s political blood spilling. Stealing the election via the net
I came across the chart above thanks to betfair.com. The chart shows “the most accurate, up-to-the-minute prediction of who will win the U.S. Presidential election based on millions of wagers placed in the world’s largest betting exchange.” Neat stuff.
But look closer and you see a divergence on September 15th (a Monday). Something happened on this date that reversed both Obama’s downward trend and McCain’s comeback. So I start digging around for a turning point speech, an event that made everyone sway or something. I find nothing the candidates did. McCain phoned a rally in Atlanta. Matt Damon had a rant publicized about Palin and his uneasy feelings toward her. But then I found something else:
Could it be that Saturday Night Live’s lampooning of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin handed this election to Obama? For many of us that can’t stay up that late anymore, TiVo and YouTube turned this clip into a sensation and set the stage for some of SNLs highest ratings in years.
One could theorize (and I do) that the SNL skit changed the conversation in America from “us vs. them” to a view that makes the McCain ticket a punchline. No matter what you thought about Palin’s qualifications before SNL, after you just had to giggle. And judging by the number of views of the partial clip on YouTube (NBC ordered YouTube to take down much of it), a lot of us were giggling.
Surely, SNL made fun of Obama and Biden, but was it Fey’s spot on looks that turned this thing around? Was it her impersonation? Would future party candidates be vetted by who looks like them in SNL cast members? I am not sure I can answer these, but the 9/13 SNL and subsequent online viewing seems to have impacted this election.
Sound off, did SNL and online views of the show give this election to the Democrats? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Check out the updated chart: [betfair]
Keep up with the latest gadget goodness! - 
Subscribe to our feed
Palm Pre Information & Updates
Palm just introduced their next-gen smartphone, the Palm Pre, and next-gen operating system, Palm webOS. Gadgetell's got the latest Pre and webOS information and news for you right here.
You idiot - try Lehman Brothers collapse.
on November 5, 2008 at 09:28 AM - LINKElegant comment, AP. The other commercial betting exchange, known as the stock market, doesn’t agree with you. We don’t see the Dow freak until October.
Others argue the Lehman Bros case too, but Obama isn’t the clear victor on economics. This chart shows a clear push in Obama’s favor.
Sure, it could be Lehman Bros. But that isn’t nearly as fun to think about.
on November 5, 2008 at 10:13 AM - LINKWell…political point of view here on net is really rampant now..its either you critic the person or you give afffirmation..its all part of the game..and the total package of the political arena…but its much nicer to be moderate in everything and give the TRUTH which will give good results for all mankind.
on March 5, 2009 at 11:41 PM - LINK