I frequently rail against the willfully ignorant and stupid people who call themselves "pundits" and pollute our airwaves. Today I want to do the opposite: praise a real pundit who came out of nowhere (politically speaking) and rose to the very top of the "profession." His name is Nate Silver and his website is FiveThirtyEight.com, named after the total number of Electors in the Electoral College. (If you divide by two, 269 is a tie so 270 is needed to win.)

Last night, Silver made the "big time" with an appearance on Countdown with Keith Olberman. Watch the video below and you'll see why Silver is so good: he's precise, factual, thoroughly informed, practically wise, and humble.

Every four years, I go to an election night party to watch the map light up in red and blue states, with a feeling of dread that key states may go red. This year, thanks to Silver, I hope to know down to the decimal point how each state will go. And if key states unexpectedly go red, I'll also know exactly where to look for Republican voter fraud.