However, the key reason we need the best talent in our universities is that teachers at this level cannot be competent if they were only middling students.

ECONOMIST: A sorry state

Thompson said he felt right at home, but made only a middling showing, says MSNBC's David Shuster.

NPR: Sparks Fly at Thompson's Rookie Debate

It may be that only the middling, manufactured sort of hit will fall by the wayside: the genuinely popular variety will remain just as powerful.

ECONOMIST: What the long tail will do