After months of following this campaign, I'm sick of hearing how Bush benefits from being underestimated (by Dems, by the press, etc.). The reality is that Kerry is the one being underestimated. Why?
The press always assumes the best case regarding Bush. When Bush flip flops ("we can't win the war on terror"), the press says "he misspoke." When he was down in the polls, NOT ONE press person even hinted at a campaign skakeup, at Bush needing to refocus, or that Bush was not running his campaign properly.
Now, in comparison, the press always assumes the worst case for Kerry. When he's ahead in the polls, it's "a statistical dead heat." Did anyone notice that the press (particularly cable media) refused to say Kerry got a convention bounce until he started dropping in the polls in August. Imagine that, he got a retro-active bounce!
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