Congratulations, Barack Obama: You have prevailed in the nerdiest election in the history of the American Republic.

If 2008 was about hope and change, 2012 was about data and memes. The unemployment rate. The effective tax rates. The 47 percent. The budget deficit projections. Of all things, the Reddit AMAs.

Same goes for understanding the elections. Never mind the baby-kissing, the fish fries, the bus tours and the conventions. What mattered in 2012 was data, and the tools to process it — which were so abundant, you could thankfully tune out the pundits. If it could be quantified, it was collected. If it could be collected, it was memed. If it could be memed, it was disputed. The disputes were answered with more data.

Wrath of the Math: Obama Wins Nerdiest Election Ever - Spencer Ackerman via Wired.com

I guess the ends justified the memes, this time?

Wired

7 November 2012 37
obamaelectionsdatapunsmemes

Notes

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  6. alfornia said: The end. Results were. Inevitable.
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