When will the pundits begin breaking for President Obama?

[Blue Idaho]

Let's face it - the TV talking head crowd can only push the "horse race" meme for so long. If they keep it up too long and the President wins re-election without them calling it - they will have egg on their faces and look like know nothings.

So - given the Electoral College realities, the strong showing by the President in the last two debates, and the swing back to pre-debate polling numbers - when will the chattering class start dashing to call this one our President?

I'll bet its soon - real soon.

[kansasobama]

1. FOX will never

I am getting a little irritated with CNN. They need to start balancing it a little.

[fugop]

15. Anyone besides me like to go look at Hume calling Ohio for Obama?

Wasn't it Hume on Fox? Talking to Rove, who said McCain couldln't win without Ohio and then Hume was all, "Um, Karl? Guess what? We're calling Ohio for Obama."

Best. Moment. Ever.

I still go back and watch that from time to time. And laaauuughhh!!!!

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. why would they? That would be going against their own interests...all about $$$

Between where they are income-wise and what they are told to say by their corporate masters, don't hold your breath.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

4. +1

Horse races sell tickets.

[SingleSeatBiggerMeat]

3. That's Easy - November 7th.

There are no ratings to be had in a 310-228 blowout.

[BeyondGeography]

5. Around 10 p.m. on Nov. 6

[yellowcanine]

8. Yeah that was my guess also.

[Vincardog]

6. Only after they can not steal it with the BBV any more

[Warpy]

7. Maybe November 7

Right now they're being paid to support the plutocracy.

[Bonhomme Richard]

12. +1 n/t

[Jennicut]

9. When the election is over. Horse races are great for ratings.

It certainly is more interesting for them. I am sure 1984 was boring.

Also, the punditry is becoming less and less important as more people simply turn to the internet. I would reckon that Gen Y gets the majority of it's news from the internet. Gen X (of which I am a part of) is not that far behind. Who watches the cable news shows? The over 55 crowd and in Faux's case, it is over 60 for their average viewer age. I watch MSNBC mostly but the majority of the time, it's the internet. CNN and Faux, like newspapers, are relying on an older demographic and not building tons of new viewers. Only MSNBC is getting younger viewers.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. NEVER!!!!

[naviman]

11. They will go back to how it was before the debates

Show a poll with Obama up 3, and say it's a "statistical tie", which is BS because it would only be a tie if the numbers were... a tie!

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. For most, around November 5th

That's about when they start moving to cover their asses. They have individual careers to protect. That is the point where they start noting recent trends that could be pushing the election outcome in Obama's favor, because pundits want to seem insightful, and they want their final on the record opinions validated by the actual final results.

A few though will begin to break out this week, noting that the electoral college map strongly favors Obama.

[Sybildisobedience]

14. Never - there is no penalty for them being wrong

They will still speak with great authority - there is simply no downside for them since they never have to admit they were wrong and no one ever calls them on it.

[smorkingapple]

16. Week before election you'll see them hedging more towards Obama...

Remember 13 days is still a lifetime in politics.. Anything can happen so they'll stretch out the ratings as long as they can...

[MSMITH33156]

17. They will

when they are forced to pick. Until that happens, they will just say "too close to call." Then, right before the election, they will make predictions, and EVERYONE will pick Obama. Never underestimate the media's ability to make the election look close:

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. They Already Have, if You Listen

A few days ago, you started to hear the discussion of "ground game" creep into pundit talk. This is their return to the Real. For the majority of the campaign, and still a bit now, they've been discussing the "impressions." But as soon as pundits began pivoting to talk of "ground game," what they were doing is trying to hedge toward the Real. They know damn well that Obama has spent probably 200 million on ground game, that he's been set up deep in all battleground states for 16-18 months, when offices haven't been in constant operation since last year, that Romney lags far, far behind. So they started sprinkling the term "ground game" into their discussions. They have to be able to point - afterward - to their "prescience" on this issue, since it will be the BIG talking point of November 7. Hey, remember way back on October 22 when I was talking about "ground game," they'll say. See? But all of this is just smoke and mirrors, a feint for the uninformed. They've known the story for a year or more. It's just a matter of cashing it out.