Ezra Klein explains the lunacy of horserace journalism -- and how it creates its own reality:

McCain “won” yesterday's day of campaigning because a poll conducted last week showed him in the lead and that led reporters at places like Politico to write about his advantage which in turn led The Politico to render the objective judgment that McCain won the day because they framed their coverage in a way that was favorable to him. During that same day, Sarah Palin showed she didn't know how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac worked, which could have generated a lot of coverage and given Obama the day, but that's not what The Politico decided to emphasize.