This is far more the case in domestic politics, which revolve around cushy jobs and exclusive interviews, rather than in international wars which involve hated and despised enemies bent on your total destruction. Perhaps because the stakes are so much smaller, the behavior is much more extreme. In today s Washington if you predict something that is contraindicated by the polls, you are either a fool, a spinner, a hack, or a loon. Well, if you predict that today s winner might be tomorrow s loser you are separating yourself from the only winner around at the moment. That s why George Stephanopoulos was called a traitor by his former colleagues when he said the president might be impeached.
Predictions can be the most devastating criticism.
A month ago, according to the press, Hillary Clinton should simply have skipped the campaigning and been sworn in because her poll numbers were so high. When her numbers went down, all of a sudden the race would be tough and bruising. Of course not. This has nothing to do with conservative versus liberal. The current hysteria over George Bush is an even better example.