Ironically, Mark Halperin–who spends his time decrying John McCain’s game plan (calling him a liar, as he does every Republican presidential candidate) and fawns over “the Land of Lincolner” Barack Obama–thinks John McCain “won” the week. MSNBC is convinced a “tie” for McCain spells doom because then everything rides on the debates. The polls show, at a national level, that the RNC bounce is gone, but McCain has improved markedly in the electoral count.

My own take? We are in flux: the debates will be critical, there certainly won’t be a Democratic landslide either for the Presidency or Congress, and the final result may turn on the last external event before the election and how the candidates’ reactions. One thing we do know: this looks more and more like a conventional race between urban, liberal Democrats and a right-of-center ticket from middle America.