Jim, it seems obvious that
Nickolas is playing the self-fulfilling prophecy game -- the
same "inevitability" argument that Team Obama began using in the
Democratic primaries in March. This is essentially what Nate Silver is doing, as
well.
This manipulation of expectations will work only so long as
Obama remains ahead in the polls. You saw the semi-panicked
reaction last week, with the collapse of the bubble caused by
Obama's foreign trip. Should McCain ever move ahead in the polls
and stay ahead for any length of time, all of Obama's media buddies
will start in on a "what went wrong" meme that could drag him
down.