I thought Trump was much improved in the second debate, but the polls we have so far show him losing:

  • CNN had it 57–34 for Hillary (with an admitted Democratic skew).
  • YouGov 47–42.
  • Politico/Morning Consult 42–28.

It may be that people don’t want to re-litigate the Clinton scandals, or that the first portion of the debate when Trump was most wild-eyed made the strongest impression, or that Trump’s demeanor strikes people as unpresidential even when he’s more disciplined and controlled and Clinton just needs to be pedestrian and avoid gaffes to win — or all of the above. If this polling is accurate, it doesn’t bode well for the third debate, because it’s hard to see how he gets much better and by the middle of next week Trump may have decided he has nothing to lose and should really let loose.