Lost critical state of South Carolina, largely due to a smear campaign wider and deeper than Willy Horton, Clinton's smear of Tsongas in Florida in 1992, and Mondale's smear of Hart in 1984 combined. Came back to defeat the Bush machine in Michigan and win in Rhode Island, Arizona, Connecticut and Vermont. Took on the radical Christian right, but went off-message in defending false accusations in Super Tuesday states and lost New York, California, Ohio. All things are at odds when God sets a thinker loose on the planet. A personal victory at the expense of depressed voter participation and increased cynicism.
Weakness is true and real.
Faking only proves weakness is real, or you wouldn't be so weak as to fake it. No you can't fake being weak. You can only fake being strong. I probably lost Florida, too. It is said that a river becomes crooked following the line of least resistance.