Posted by Jed Lewison on Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 4:01 PM Pacific

The Problem With Losing

I generally don't post much about polls; with Nate Silver and Sam Wang, the blogosphere has already pretty much got that covered. But between the new 14-point CBS poll and the fact that virtually every other poll shows Obama leading McCain by a wide margin, the polls are now inserting themselves as a major asset for Barack Obama.

It's not just that people like a winner, although that does give a boost to Obama's aura of strength and confidence. And it's not just that it will encourage more Republicans to bail on McCain, although it will.

It's also that every single thing that John McCain does is now viewed through the prism of polling data that shows him to be in a desperate position indeed. It makes everything he does seem more political than it might otherwise appear, and as a result, it means that no matter what he says, his credibility is automatically discounted.

When you combine this dynamic with the fact that McCain's campaign has been thoroughly dishonest since at least this summer, he now faces a nearly impossible task: getting voters to believe anything he says. And if he can't get them to believe him, how can he expect to win their support?

The Problem With Losing

I generally don't post much about polls; with Nate Silver and Sam Wang, the blogosphere has already pretty much got that covered. But between the new 14-point CBS poll and the fact that virtually every other poll shows Obama leading McCain by a wide margin, the polls are now inserting themselves as a major asset for Barack Obama.

It's not just that people like a winner, although that does give a boost to Obama's aura of strength and confidence. And it's not just that it will encourage more Republicans to bail on McCain, although it will.

It's also that every single thing that John McCain does is now viewed through the prism of polling data that shows him to be in a desperate position indeed. It makes everything he does seem more political than it might otherwise appear, and as a result, it means that no matter what he says, his credibility is automatically discounted.

When you combine this dynamic with the fact that McCain's campaign has been thoroughly dishonest since at least this summer, he now faces a nearly impossible task: getting voters to believe anything he says. And if he can't get them to believe him, how can he expect to win their support?

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