From the October 8 edition of ABC News' The Note:

With almost no exceptions, national and battleground state polls since the first presidential debate have shown improvement for Kerry. We miss the days when [Republican spokespeople] Bartlett/Schmidt/Gillespie/McClellan talking points could attribute any and all Kerry campaign actions and statements to desperation because of sagging poll numbers. Maybe those days will return after tonight ... .

Or perhaps ABC News is just trying to get a jump on drafting its post-debate analysis. Also from the October 8 edition of The Note:

As for tonight, the president's superior skills as a candidate (and Senator Kerry's Gore-like inability to take advantages of gifts given ... ) should take the edge off what has been a horrible week of table-setting news for Mr. Bush -- Bremer, Duelfer, Rumsfeld. Or not.