Moneyball!

Last night, the Oakland A's won, leading the Washington Post to proclaim, "'Moneyball' Approach Finally Pays Off":

Much like communism and a national health care plan, the Oakland Athletics' use of statistical analysis and unconventional logic in building a baseball team had been an idea most successful in theory.

... Of course, last night's victory vindicates the "Moneyball" approach. "What does hit have to do with politics?" you may ask.

Well, according to a recent NY Times Magazine profile, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman is a huge believer in the Moneyball approach:

When Mehlman talks about politics, he doesn't talk about Machiavelli; he talks about "Moneyball," Michael Lewis's book about how the Oakland A's employed statistical modeling to assemble a powerhouse baseball team, sending to pasture the old-line scouts with their years of calling it from their guts ...