If you’ve ever watched even a single episode of a reality TV show like Master Chef, America’s Top Model and, yes, The Apprentice you’ve seen the signs that someone is about to get fired or voted off the island. In the jargon of TV production that’s the Loser Edit. What starts with
little observed stumbles or social gaffes escalates until, it’s just a matter of time before the contestant disintegrates into full blown defensiveness, or accusations that everyone is conspiring against them, or crying jags with sad sobs about wanting to go home. Sometimes you even get all of the above.
Usually the media like to play out a presidential campaign as if it’s a neck and neck horse race. Even in cases like Obama vs. McCain, where the writing was on the wall, the major news outlets acted as if it was anyone’s game right up to election night. What we’re seeing here, in the Trump vs. Clinton race, is the first time I’ve ever seen a Loser Edit beginning with weeks yet to go before a national election. Even Trump is in on it, with his laying blame on a lack of party support for a defeat he hasn’t even suffered yet. Trump, obviously, knows what a Loser Edit is, and it seems like he’s a willing participant in this one.
The Original Spin 