Except it doesn't have to. It's easy to apply a subjective narrative to changes in numbers.
For instance, Obama's electoral vote EV and chance of winning, according to 538, sharply plummets after the first debate before turning around. Between the 3rd and 12th of October, Romney actually tripled his chances of winning from about 13% to about 39%. Then it turned around and Romney dropped to about 16%. It's not difficult to build a dramatic story around that.
In fact, this kind of thing is exactly what sportswriters and business journalists do all the time. Which means ESPN is on a (slightly) higher plane of journalism than most political commentary.
For instance, Obama's electoral vote EV and chance of winning, according to 538, sharply plummets after the first debate before turning around. Between the 3rd and 12th of October, Romney actually tripled his chances of winning from about 13% to about 39%. Then it turned around and Romney dropped to about 16%. It's not difficult to build a dramatic story around that.
In fact, this kind of thing is exactly what sportswriters and business journalists do all the time. Which means ESPN is on a (slightly) higher plane of journalism than most political commentary.