John Sides

Every election, you hear a lot about a candidate having or losing "momentum." What does it mean? Almost anything, and therefore nothing.

In the last few days "turnout" became a favorite word among pundits. Who would show up to the polls this year? And how would that turnout affect the race? John Sides is a professor of political science at George Washington University and the co-author of "The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential election." Todd Zwillich is The Takeaway's Washington correspondent.

For many reporters, covering conventions is a chore. Literally, a chore - something that an authority makes you do even though it's unpleasant and seems pointless. But conventions do matter -- to voters at least. Brooke talks with political scientist John Sides who says that the post-convention polls you'll be seeing next week are a pretty good indicator of who's going to win.  

In a new approach to finding out how politicians win elections,"The Gamble," a book by John Sides and Lynn Vavreck, offers a real time analysis of the election. The e-book is being u...