CNN making a prediction based on an exit poll is a little weird, but OK why not.
Nothing at all weird about that. Done often enough in safe elections in the US.
And in Germany (and Europe for the most part), the exit polls are considered to be practically the results. Politicians concede defeat and declare victory based off of them.
In last few election I remember exit poll getting a bad name. Which tells me CNN is 1) wanting to be first in making a projection and 2) that they are very confident in the exit poll.
American exit polls tend to be poor, but it's still a matter of statistics. They might be 5% off....or a bit more, but it's very unlikely that they're off by more than a certain amount.
If CNN has Romney up by...say...15% in the exit poll, then it's really nearly a certainty that it won't be THAT wrong.
