The expectations game for the next debate is on. I've seen suggestions that Kerry supporters should now express worry about how their guy will perform and praise Bush's fabled "common touch". In my opinion there's no need to talk down Kerry's expectations. If you now try to paint him as a poor debater, it may take away from Thursday's fine performance. There's a better way to set him up for another win in the expectations game.
The key here is to talk up the expectations for Bush. Don't praise him for relating to common people or any nonsense like that. Just stress how extremely important it is for Bush to win with a big margin in the next debate to get back in the game. Like this:
"After Thursday's blow-out, Bush can't afford to draw. He needs to win and he needs to win big. A draw or even a small win will really be a loss after the way he got trounced on Thursday. He's behind and he only has two opportunities to come back, so merely avoiding another catastrophe won't be enough. Bush needs to be at the top of his game throughout. He must perform flawlessly because all eyes are on him."
Should Bush win big (after Rove replaces the real Kerry with a robot programmed to repeat "J'adore Osama bin Laden"), Dems are screwed anyway and no amount of pre-debate spin will help. But after framing the issue in the above way, should the second debate be close, it won't be seen as being enough for Bush - because his expectations have been raised without anyone having to praise his debating skills.
As for Kerry, people saw what he can do on Thursday. I believe he can keep debating on that level till the sun grows cold and dim. He won't be able to exceed expectations again with such a large margin as he did on Thursday, but he can surely meet them. And as long as Bush fails to do what he "must" do, that's enough for another Kerry win.