Third presidential debates usually don’t matter. And there’s a reason. The candidate who’s behind tries to avoid mistakes made in the earlier debates and sound more clear-minded and knowledgeable. The candidate who’s ahead simply plays it safe.

The result is a debate unlikely to change the fundamentals of a campaign. And that was the case Wednesday night. It was Donald Trump’s best debate and Hillary Clinton’s worst. But it’s doubtful Trump’s performance did more than keep him from falling further behind.