Wikipedia Length for GOP Candidates

Wikipedia pages matter. Wikipedia is one of the first links that appears in a Google search (unfortunately for Santorum, it's the third link). Longer Wikipedia pages could stem from increased accomplishment, a larger fan base, or social media savvy. Behold, the length of Wikipedia articles for the GOP candidates.

There's a general correlation between Wikipedia Article length and Iowa Poll Numbers.

I'd expect this indicator to be somewhat lagging and dynamic: as a candidate thrives, his Wikipedia page grows.

Intrade on Romney

Many in the GOP seem to think that Romney would be the best candidate to take on Obama. Nate Silver's model suggests that the more moderate the Republican, the better the chance in the general. But what do the markets think?

Intrade.com, a popular betting market for national politics, allows betters to wager on both

1. The odds Romney will win the nomination.

2. The odds Obama will win reelection.

Here are those particular odds graphed against each other for all dates in the year 2011.

R^2 is .5329. It seems the markets think that a Romney primary victory decreases Obama's odds of reelection. Intuitively, he feels like a strong general candidate. The latest Real Clear Politics poll average has Obama as a 1.5 favorite over Romney, a tighter spread than against any other candidate.