A debate?

In a trade very reminiscent of "The Trade", the McCain campaign agreed to flip-flop the debate topics in exchange for allowing a rigid structure to the Palin-Biden debate.

According to the New York Times:

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden, will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates. McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

I think this works out to be a huge victory for the Obama camp. Barring some international catastrophe between now and Friday, the debate on foreign affairs should be straightforward, and while McCain should come in with a perceived strength on the subject, Obama merely needs to show he is competent in world issues to pass.

The advantage Obama gained by switching the debate topics is obvious: he saves the best for last. While it is impossible to predict what will happen over the next four weeks, the economy figures to be a major issue no matter what. For Obama, this is the issue that has lead to his refocused campaign and the resurgence in the polls. If he can focus the election on economic terms, he will be riding a very big wave into election day.

For Biden the flip-side of the trade is actually a perfect concession. While he would love ample time to demonstrate why he s such a superior debater than Ms. Palin, he is probably best just sticking to the issues. This will prevent him from veering too far off-topic, and will allow the audience to focus on the sharp contrast between their respective positions rather than the soap-opera battle of the sexes the media is hoping for.

[UPDATE: Obviously Nate Silver over at fivethirtyeight.com feels the same way.]