To save you all the trouble, here’s a nice summary from The Note of all the conventional wisdom that’s been floating around about tonight’s debate. I could have just read this instead of the reams of political commentary I’ve been ingesting in the last few days, but it wouldn’t have been quite as fun.

Kerry has to “win” the debate to win blah blah blah.

Kerry has a tough challenge — to go on the attack but still be someone Americans want in their living rooms for four years blah blah blah.

Both these men are champion debaters blah blah blah.

What the news coverage says immediately after the debate is just as important — maybe more important — than what happens in the debate itself blah blah blah.

Kerry will acknowledge that he’s changed his mind occasionally and can be unclear at times, but will needle Bush by saying it’s better to be flexible when things go wrong than to be stubborn blah blah blah.

This is the first time both candidates will appear together before the American people free from the influences of handlers and aides blah blah blah.

The president — after acting confident for days — will “surprise” everyone (and de-fang Senator Kerry) by being suddenly contrite and yielding — less “times are tough,” or, even “mistakes were made,” than “I have made mistakes” blah blah blah.

In a nation of several hundred million people, why does Jim Lehrer get to keep moderating these things blah blah blah.

It will be interesting to see if the candidates choose blue or red ties blah blah blah.

How they look and act will matter as much as what they say, blah, blah, blah.

John Kerry sure better have a good and tight answer to that Iraq question, blah, blah, blah.

Boy, Republicans are more organized and on message than Democrats are blah blah blah.

Al Gore lost the first 2000 debate by losing the post-debate spin wars blah blah blah.

How about those wacky, restrictive, detailed campaign-negotiated rules that make this less a debate and more a joint appearance blah blah blah.

The first debate historically has the largest audience blah blah blah.

John Kerry must sound more bar room than Brahmin blah blah blah.

Ralph Reed really HAS been to the fountain of youth (or perhaps DID make that deal with the devil) blah blah blah.

And most important, as Democratic pollster Paul Maslin — with characteristic understatement — told the Los Angeles Times about John Kerry:

“If he can make this election about Bush, Bush in all likelihood will lose. If this election is about Kerry, then we’ve got a rougher row to hoe.”

And there isn’t any blah blah blah about that.