Target Point

Goodbye to a State Fair

Thanks to Rodgers and Hammerstein and to an influx of politicians every four years a great deal of attention is heaped on the Iowa State Fair.  It is a grand tradition and one of the more interesting events on the political calendar.  Once a place to merely display the crowned hogs and prize pumpkins, state fairs have become a unique combination of carnival rides, agricultural oddities, beauty queens and gluttonous fare including everything imaginable fried or put on a stick or both.

This Labor Day though a brings a sad reminder that many of our grand traditions may be only a few poor decisions away from coming to a halt...

Politics In Religion

We often think about the role of religion in politics, last week there was an interesting case of politics in religion.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted 559 to 451 last week to allow gays and lesbians in lifelong committed relationships to serve as clergy.

Beyond the outcome of the vote itself, I think it is notable...

Good News in the WaPost Survey?

Republicans across the country were given a shot of good news when most the recent Washington Post/ABC News Poll was released earlier this month.  The poll shows Republican Bob McDonnell taking an early and surprisingly large lead in the race to become Virginia’s next Governor.  The Post spends considerable time explaining why McDonnell is ahead and even devotes a second story to the poll called “Behind the Poll Numbers” that offers a deep a look at the numbers and what they mean. 

Interestingly, none of these stories highlight the fact that Democratic Party ID has fallen to its lowest level in the 20 year history of the survey...

A "Win" On Health Care Reform

With the public option seemingly on the ropes and growing sympathy with this summer’s town hall protests, it’s worth taking a brief moment to consider what a so-called “win” in this debate might look like and ponder its consequences.  While some will be tempted to push for the status quo and the outright obstruction of health care reform, a brief glance at public polling reveals that such a strategy is problematic.

The multitude of public polling on health care reform can be summarized...

Turning Data Into Knowledge

A glance at my investment portfolio will quickly reveal that I have no real skill in picking stocks, but a recent Wall Street Journal article by Jason Zweig on data mining and stock picking provides an ideal opportunity to highlight our work here at TargetPoint Consulting.

As you likely already know, TargetPoint was an innovator of data mining voter files to predict voter behaviors and attitudes.  Initially, our techniques...