Maddowblog - "Who ascribes 'momentum'?" - More Reasons Not To Buy Into RW Media Talking Points! [View all]

[TomCADem]

If you needed more reason not freak out when some corporate media outlet recites the latest talking point about Romney having momentum or "Romentum." Perhaps the reason why he has Romentum is because his campaign is simply insisting that this is the case. At the end of the day, you need to ignore the right wing media noise and work to win the election.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/24/14666805-who-ascribes-momentum?lite

I saw a curious headline from NPR this morning: "Romney Rides Momentum To Nevada, Colorado." Reuters had a similar headline this morning, touting Romney's "momentum," and Slate did the same thing yesterday.

I have no idea what they're talking about.

To be sure, the Republican saw significant, possibly even election-changing, gains after his first debate with President Obama three weeks ago, erasing the advantage the incumbent built up in September.

But what's happened since? By every measure, Obama won the second debate last week, then won again in the third debate. The polls that showed the president's lead evaporating have leveled off. Early voting totals have looked quite favorable for Democrats. In Nate Silver's model, Obama's odds of winning have gone from 61.1% two weeks ago to 68.1% yesterday.So why simply ascribe Romney with "momentum"? Based on what, exactly? Does the Republican have momentum because he's telling the media he has momentum?