Rudy Giuliani's pollster, Ed Goeas, held a conference call with reporters that was designed to let them know that the campaign isn't at all worried about his precipitous plunge in the polls. But a couple of things he said inadvertently indicate in stark terms just how bad things have gotten for Rudy.

In response to a WSJ/NBC poll released yesterday that showed that Rudy's national lead has effectively evaporated, Rudy's pollster made two points. The more predictable one was that Rudy's grand strategy turns on winning in Florida, meaning that the national numbers don't matter.

But in that state, which is the centerpiece of Rudy's game plan and represents his last hope, Rudy has seen his lead slip as Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney have both surged.

More interesting was this reaction from Rudy's pollster to the WSJ/NBC poll:

Goeas dismissed the poll, saying that he prefers to pay attention to the average of the last several polls, which he said still puts Giuliani ahead by several points.

Now Rudy's pollster is taking solace from the fact that his national lead is "several points." That's pretty revealing, considering that Rudy's national lead over the summer was in double digits.

Quite a fall.