Debate takeaway
Anyone who knew nothing about the two men on stage last night would have seen Biden as a frail, elderly man who was hard to understand at times, while Trump appeared organized and energetic. Biden often spoke too fast and lost his train of thought a few times, coming across as nervous and giving the impression that he was trying to cram detailed explanations he'd memorized into the limited time available. He would have done much better if he'd spoken slowly and forcefully with less detail. Biden has never been a good public speaker, and if he was talking that way in the debate prep, whoever advised him that it was a good idea should be fired.
Trump, on the other hand, avoided the mistakes everyone was expecting. His handlers probably told him to not speak into a dead mike as that would have looked bad, and he didn't veer off into weird riffs on sharks or electrocution or complaints that water doesn't come out of faucets anymore. I'm now wondering if he talks about that stuff at his rallies because he thinks his audience enjoys it, but has enough sense to know that it won't come across the same way to a national audience. Trump did have a pattern of ignoring the question and instead going back to add more to his answer to the preceding question. This was completely unnecessary given the debate's format, which gave each of them the opportunity for rebuttal and followup. But I'm afraid not answering the question in a forceful manner is a better look than answering it but making the audience wish there were subtitles. Biden also failed to make the case for legal abortion, arguably the Democrats' most popular issue, possibly due to his own personal ambivalence.
I want to make it clear that I would take Biden in a coma over Trump. But any Democrat would be better than Trump. I'm seeing more calls today to replace Biden, and if the goal is to beat Trump, that should be the priority. A brokered convention could be a disaster, and anyone who comes out of it as the nominee is going to be thoroughly hated by a large segment of Democratic voters. Ideally, Biden would resign now and let Harris run as the incumbent. At the moment, her disapproval ratings are lower than both Biden's or Trump's, and at least she was chosen by the voters four years ago, an advantage no one else has.
Another option would be for Biden to announce that he will finish his term, but is withdrawing his candidacy and freeing his delegates to vote for someone else. This would ignite a flurry of competition as the people who were expecting to run in 2028 would scramble for the nomination. The worst possible outcome would be a brokered convention where a substantial number of Biden's delegates decide to support someone else.
It's astonishing how important debate performance is compared to how little it has to do with the ability to govern. But perception is everything. It doesn't matter if Biden had a cold or if his debate prep focused on the wrong things. If he really is deteriorating mentally, people in his inner circle would be saying so. The people in Trump's inner circle haven't been shy about saying how ignorant and stupid he is. But Biden's performance last night certainly raises the question of whether he's capable of making it through the next four years.
Trump, on the other hand, avoided the mistakes everyone was expecting. His handlers probably told him to not speak into a dead mike as that would have looked bad, and he didn't veer off into weird riffs on sharks or electrocution or complaints that water doesn't come out of faucets anymore. I'm now wondering if he talks about that stuff at his rallies because he thinks his audience enjoys it, but has enough sense to know that it won't come across the same way to a national audience. Trump did have a pattern of ignoring the question and instead going back to add more to his answer to the preceding question. This was completely unnecessary given the debate's format, which gave each of them the opportunity for rebuttal and followup. But I'm afraid not answering the question in a forceful manner is a better look than answering it but making the audience wish there were subtitles. Biden also failed to make the case for legal abortion, arguably the Democrats' most popular issue, possibly due to his own personal ambivalence.
I want to make it clear that I would take Biden in a coma over Trump. But any Democrat would be better than Trump. I'm seeing more calls today to replace Biden, and if the goal is to beat Trump, that should be the priority. A brokered convention could be a disaster, and anyone who comes out of it as the nominee is going to be thoroughly hated by a large segment of Democratic voters. Ideally, Biden would resign now and let Harris run as the incumbent. At the moment, her disapproval ratings are lower than both Biden's or Trump's, and at least she was chosen by the voters four years ago, an advantage no one else has.
Another option would be for Biden to announce that he will finish his term, but is withdrawing his candidacy and freeing his delegates to vote for someone else. This would ignite a flurry of competition as the people who were expecting to run in 2028 would scramble for the nomination. The worst possible outcome would be a brokered convention where a substantial number of Biden's delegates decide to support someone else.
It's astonishing how important debate performance is compared to how little it has to do with the ability to govern. But perception is everything. It doesn't matter if Biden had a cold or if his debate prep focused on the wrong things. If he really is deteriorating mentally, people in his inner circle would be saying so. The people in Trump's inner circle haven't been shy about saying how ignorant and stupid he is. But Biden's performance last night certainly raises the question of whether he's capable of making it through the next four years.
