Trump-Biden Debate

A key problem for the Biden team and for the Democratic Party is Kamala Harris. If Biden decides to not seek a second term, it is almost certain that Vice President Harris will be the shaky nominee.

If Biden pulls out, qualms about age and decrepitude immediately turn, like Elmer Fudd’s shotgun, back onto Trump. He’s not aging well either.

Biden recovered later in the debate, but not before viewers were given ample reason to worry about an 81-year incumbent.

The Democrats should embrace this opportunity to produce a splendid, news-dominating American pageant. For once, horse race coverage will actually be more important than issues coverage. With the nominee unknown, Putin and Trump will have a hard time targeting or strategizing.

Overall, this whole exercise proved to be a vindication of what the so called "double haters" believe: this matchup is a disaster for the country. 

Compared to Trump he was a relative paragon of accuracy, truth, context, and detail.

This “debate” was incredibly sad. Sad to watch Joe Biden, like a fighter well beyond his prime, taking blow after blow. Always on his heels. Always reactive.

What rubs salt in the wound of American pride in its democratic system is the mockery from China: the fact that netizens of the one-party authoritarian state are laughing over the debacle.

Biden’s gravely disappointing performance allowed Trump to avoid answering vital questions.

Polls showed that an unnamed Democrat could beat Trump, but they also consistently show that people don’t approve of Biden’s performance and think he’s too old to be President and is a weak leader. He had one chance Thursday to demonstrate all that was mistaken—and he utterly failed to do it.

If Trump lied more egregiously than Biden, and he did, Biden piled up his share of political fibs.

"My lies are good lies. I lie to preserve democracy. Trump’s lies are bad lies."

I was pleasantly surprised (starting from very low expectations) how much he recalled and how cogently he recited it. The downside to all the prepping is too much detail and no zingers.

When the nation’s voters – many millions of them – tuned in to last night’s debate, what they first heard was the nation’s president, an aging white man struggling with a mouth full of cotton.