WASHINGTON – I try to avoid making predictions during a presidential campaign. Aside from the fact that I’m superstitious, recent presidential races have been difficult to predict until much closer to the election. When I have made predictions, I’ve often been wrong. For example, I declined an invitation in 2000 to fly to Nashville to be with the Gore campaign in the event of a recount. “There is no way there will be a presidential recount,” I said. But this year the dynamics have been set for months. The most recent developments such as President Trump’s disastrous debate performance, a New York Times report that Trump had not paid taxes for 10 years before 2016 and then only $750 for the next two years, and Trump’s handling of his COVID, point to momentum moving in Joe Biden’s direction. Post-debate polls reveal a Biden bounce. A CNN poll released Tuesday, Oct. 6, shows Biden leading Trump by 16 points, 57% to 41%. A NBC/WSJ poll released Sunday, Oct. 4, has Biden leading Trump by 14 points, 53% to 39%. Biden is running ahead in all the battleground states and running even in some states once believed to be safe for Trump. Even assuming wavering Trump voters return home, it doesn’t look promising for the president’s reelection chances. With that in mind, below are my predictions with less than a month to go. 1.) There is usually tightening before the election, but Joe Biden should easily defeat Donald Trump 54% to 45%. I believe Biden will carry all the states Barack Obama won in 2008, except Indiana.