"February 3, 2008." That's how I began my speech to the CIBO annual meeting last night in Charlotte. "11.5," I added. "Remember that date and that number."

I did my act for about 25 minutes and then came back to the date and the number. February 3 was the date of Superbowl XLII between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.

The Patriots came into the game 18-0 and were 11-and-a-half point favorites to beat the Giants who were a mediocre 10-6 in the regular season.

The Giants hadn't even won their division. The Dallas Cowboys at 13-3 had cruised to that honor.

The Pats had already beaten the Giants in New York with its golden-boy quarterback Tom Brady. The Giant's quarterback was the lesser of the two Manning brothers - Eli - not the darling of TV commercial producers, brother Peyton was the Giant's quarterback.

No one in the near solar system thought the Giants had a prayer, hence the bookies made them 11.5 point underdogs.

But, on February 3, they actually played the game and the Giants won 17-14 and Eli Manning was voted the game MVP.

I bring this up because the McCain/Palin team finds itself in much the same position as the Giants. McCain/Palin is behind Obama/Biden by somewhere between one percentage point (IBD/TIPP) and 13 percentage points (CBS/NY Times) in polls released on October 22.

No poll has McCain/Palin ahead.

Just like betting on the New York Giants last February, it would be foolhardy to bet on McCain to win a week from Tuesday. No chance. No how. No way.

So, naturally, the popular press has decided the race for President of the United States is over. It has already been won by Barak Obama. Ta-Dah!

Obama might win the election. If the constant, funereal drumbeat of the popular press declaring McCain's loss becomes an article of faith among Republican and conservative independent voters, then Obama will win the election.

That is the nature of a self-fulfilling prophesy. Continued...