Here's what Clinton campaign top strategist Penn had to say about his candidate's deficit, compared to Barack Obama, in match-up polling against John McCain: The polls that you're seeing now are just a reflection of the recent primary wins. ... Unfortunately, winning Democratic primaries and caucuses is not actually reflective of who can beat the Republican. ... When Kerry got the nomination he was 17 points up, ahead of Bush. ... Poll evidence frankly has never been a reliable indicator of who's going to win a general election. These polls are momentum based rather than reliable indicators of how the race is going to play itself out.It's pretty clear that Obama is a much, much more attractive politician than Kerry, so that's a bit of a low blow. But it's certainly true that Obama's small lead over McCain right now shouldn't be taken for granted going forward.--Dana Goldstein
