Expectations for McCain have to be pretty low given his horrible, terrible week. Expectations for Obama, of course, are always sky high. So how does it play out?
I say Obama plays it tight. He does not want to make a mistake as the McCain campaign implodes on its own. Obama will take the high road and talk bipartisanship and “we are all Americans after all” etc, etc.
McCain knows he needs to make up ground so he may try to land a haymaker. If he pulls it off he might get a couple percentage points bounce. If he looks like an angry flailing old man, he gives away a few points.
When it is all done Allan Loudell will find some pundit to say “There was no clear winner.”