Ultimately, if she wins, it means the race isn't about her; it's about the party in power."

Reid and Angle are in a dead heat. Reid can't get over about 43%, but he's been able to scare people away from Angle.

Reid was viewed unfavorably by 51 percent -- about where he has been for most of this year -- and Angle is now seen unfavorably by 47 percent. That's 4 percentage points higher than two weeks ago and nearly double what it was in June, just before she won the primary and ran into the Reid buzz saw.

She needs to reassure voters that she's not a crazed far right kook. It's like Reagan against Carter in 1980. Once people saw Reagan in the debates and could tell he wasn't the right-wing wacko the press were portraying, the undecideds went to him in a landslide. Angle may be getting over-managed by her own consultants. She needs to get a message and stick to it.