And once it became competitive, Gore needed to play the expectations game in a different way.

But they are concerned about how he might fare in the expectations game.

For the first time in weeks, the Clinton campaign had finally won the expectations game.

Any camp that has not pulled in at least $15 million by now fails the expectations game.

He says that once again it's all about the expectations game:

In terms of performance, each side has its risk factors and its own version of the expectations game.

Some people, of course, never engaged in the expectations game.

All of those figures are part of the expectations game, as it has come to be known.

The Iowa caucuses are about winning the expectations game.

He was a big winner in the expectations game, but how much further he can go is unclear.