John and Abe, part of the frenzy and the “landslide!” declarations spring from a desperate clinging to isolated bits of data (“Oh, he’s up three points in New Hampshire!”) as if they provide a sense of certainty and finality to the race. We are more than five weeks away from Election Day, the financial crisis and the two candidates’ reactions to it are works in progress, and the debates are yet to be had. It might be emotionally reassuring to seize upon this or that shred of polling news, but none of it will tell you who will win.

That perhaps explains yesterday’s bizarre insistence, which had crumbled by the evening, of the Obama camp on moving forward with the campaign as if nothing in the real world was more important than the next rally or fundraiser. You can deny the game has been changed, you can pretend outside events don’t matter, and you can stick to the campaign schedule. But that’s not how you win a race–or govern. Compulsive devotion to routine isn’t a good quality in a President.

It’s not hard to see why the Obama camp and their followers would hope to cling to the original game plan and avert their eyes from real world events. And yes, it might calm frayed nerves in the MSM to believe that this is all a done deal for their favorite candidate. But both Obama and the MSM would do well to get out of their rut, look up from the campaign, and take a look at events other than the next campaign stop. The voters sure do.

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