Wait for it -- Romney's media rebound

[Commentary] Regardless of what Romney does — even if he continues to stick both feet in his mouth — he is very likely to see his fortunes rise. That's because it is an iron law of American presidential campaign coverage that what goes up must come down and, conversely, what is down must go up.

In short, Romney is going to be the beneficiary of what you might call the "media bounce." The idea of a media bounce has very little to do with either Romney or Obama. In fact, it has very little to do with any candidate. It has to do with certain proclivities within the American media. As political scientist Thomas Patterson described it in his 1994 study of campaign coverage, "Out of Order, " the media really have only four stories to tell: a candidate is winning or losing, gaining ground or losing ground. And he adds, "The press have a distinct narrative for each situation," which is why the coverage of one presidential election pretty much mirrors the coverage of every other election. In the media, every campaign is basically a sequel.

[Neal Gabler is at work on a biography of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.]