Keller @ Large: Candidates Play Expectations Game
BOSTON (CBS) -- Appearances to the contrary, politics is not a game. The consequences are far too serious to call it that.
But there's no doubt that a big part of politics is a game--the expectations game.
Here's how it works: a candidate starts out with the most money raised, like Jeb Bush, and becomes the frontrunner.But when he fails to catch on and his poll numbers languish, the expectations turn sour.
Or sometimes a candidate enters the race as a clear frontrunner based on name recognition and institutional support, like Hillary Clinton, and the polls give her an insurmountable lead. But after months of desultory campaigning, lo and behold, Bernie Sanders is right there with her, trapping Clinton in the negativity of unmet expectations.
But the thing about the expectations game is that if it's cleverly played, it can turn on a dime. Clinton is right now trying to setup a scenario where a loss to Sanders next Tuesday by less than double-digits is actually a miraculous comeback, just like the one her husband pulled off finishing second in New Hampshire in 1992.
We just saw Marco Rubio turn the same trick in Iowa, where a third-place finish is successfully spun as a huge victory.
Which leads us to Donald Trump, a brilliant real-estate speculator and showman who is proving not so adept at managing expectations. Better keep that huge polling lead you've been boasting about, Mr. Trump, or you may find yourself the winner of the primary, but the loser of the expectations game.
