in my opinion, equaled this one. (Neither Nixon nor Kennedy was an incumbent President. Nixon was Vice President at the time and Ford was an incumbent President.)

Of course, for this one, there is pressure on Romney, too But not as much as there is on Obama. The perception that the President "lost" the first debate, and badly, means this one is virtually a "must win" for him; at an absolute minimum, he must get no worse than a verdict of "a draw" or "tie."

Romney has only to be perceived as having "done all right" or "held his own." He would only suffer if he is tagged a "loser" in this one. But even that would leave him and supporters with the consolation that, "Well, it's one/one in the debates, with the tie-breaker to come next Monday."