Seriously? I mean, really? Taking Nate Silver to task for offering a “put up or shut up” bet to Joe Scarborough?

If there was any doubt as to how off-base you were, you removed it with your final graf:

When he came to work at The Times, Mr. Silver gained a lot more visibility and the credibility associated with a prominent institution. But he lost something, too: the right to act like a free agent with responsibilities to nobody’s standards but his own.

You’re correct that the relationship is unbalanced, but not in the way you think: Silver had plenty of exposure during the last election cycle as an independent voice. The Times gains more credibility for partnering with him than he gains exposure — you’d be covering him anyway. I’m sure the Times is paying him handsomely, but I’m similarly sure he’d be right to completely dismiss your tut-tutting here.

Fortunately, it looks like most people are taking Sullivan about as seriously as she deserves, even if Silver himself was gentlemanly about her bizarre wrongheadedness.

(Final link: h/t Frazer!)