(2) Joe Biden. This is also pretty much what happened for Crazy Uncle Joe. Things are going reasonably well for Biden—four of the last five polls have him over 30 percent—and a debate that lets the status quo continue helps him.

He had his usual stumbles—talking about “punching, punching” at domestic violence—which, in any other context, would be bad. But next to Trump, this pattern seems kind of endearing.

Also: His central pitch is “A Return to Normalcy” and he made that point as well as possible when he refused to take the bait on prosecuting Trump and then said that he didn’t like it when people chant “Lock him up” about the president.

Any time you’re able to have a moment in a debate that drives home the central thrust of your candidacy, it’s a good thing.