How geeks re-elected the president

The Obama campaign probably knew how you were going to vote before you did

Taegan Goddard

Elections were once decided in the smoke-filled rooms of party bosses. Then they were waged in war rooms of political operatives. Today, they're won in computer caves.

Inside the Cave is a must-read look at the Obama re-election campaign's digital operation. The Obama "cave" at its Chicago headquarters buzzed with more than 50 analysts who used reams of data to predict the individual behavior of tens of millions of Americans voters. It's not hyperbole to suggest the Obama campaign may have known who you were going to vote for before you did.

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political websites. He also runs Wonk Wire and the Political Dictionary. Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and COO 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. Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including The Washington Post, USA TodayBoston Globe, San Francisco ChronicleChicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Christian Science Monitor. Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.