11:07 am ET

It is almost midday. Neither Team Obama nor Team Romney has won the day yet.

The elite constituencies Romney needs to think anew about his chances (political reporters, GOP pols, Fox anchors, Wall Streeters, etc) are looking for him to win some news cycles.

He faces a lot of self-induced challenges on that score, including his continued practice of doing TV interviews that are themeless puddings. But, he also must contend with the reality that Chicago plays to win every day.

As a thought experiment, let’s see if Romney ends up winning Thursday OR Friday.