In a stifling town hall debate, the tie goes to the frontrunner

There are two possible ways in which the Oct. 8 presidential debate will be interpreted by most of the media over the next several days – and both are favorable to Barack Obama. The most likely outcome is a general press consensus that the town hall forum was roughly a draw; that both Obama and John McCain had their moments, but that neither delivered a memorable line or introduced any kind of game-changing wrinkle into the mix. In baseball, a tie goes to the runner; in political debates, it goes to the front-runner.