Everyone knows the second presidential debate is tonight. But I'm not sure everyone knows this one is in the townhall format. As a general matter, I'm not sure which of the two candidates is better in that format. What I do know is that townhall-style debates are almost always rough going for the candidate who's on the attack. Partisans like attack politics. And while persuadable or independent voters may be affected by harsh attacks, they seldom 'like' it when they see it. And that puts McCain in something of a box, because he's the one who needs to shake things up in a big way.

So my question is whether it's going to be the tooth-n-claw McCain who shows up tonight or the 'honor song-n-dance' McCain.

Who do you think we'll see?