The Expectations Game

A few weeks back I noted the Bush campaign’s strategy to lower expectations for Bush’s performance in debates by creating a debate-about-debates dynamic that made it seem as if the president was afraid of too many debates; I also noted how hard it was for Bush’s detractors to resist the temptation to fall into the trap by mocking Bush on this score.
The good news for Kerry supporters: Matt Yglesias isn’t stupid enough to fall for the trap. The bad news: John Kerry is.
(Stephen Green notes about Kerry: “Man, I’d love to play poker with this guy.” Of course, Kerry is the same guy who has now announced to the world that we should be willing to threaten war when we don’t mean it, so his bluffing skills are as bad as his ability to recognize a bluff – “Gee, John, you put a lot of chips on this hand.” “Yes, I’m bluffing.”).