There was a time long ago, when people took presidential debates seriously. So while theatrics played a role in the Kennedy/Nixon debate before the 1960 election, the back and forth on the stage was dignified and serious.
My how times have changed!
Last night, we saw Donald Trump and Joe Biden “debate”. Were there any serious exchanges about policy? No. Instead, the focus was on (1) can Joe Biden remember what 1 + 1 equals? and (2) can Donald Trump enunciate a single sentence without telling a bald faced lie?
Unfortunately for Joe Biden, he needed to appear “normal”. That is, like a person who has enough smarts and vigor to lead the nation. According to pundits, he failed. Here is Steve Schmidt
The weird thing is that while Joe’s performance raises eyebrows, one cannot say with a straight face that Donald Trump “won” the debate. It is true that he did not wander into his “shark versus electrocution” jag that he dives into during his stump speeches. Nor did he praise Hannibal Lector or Al Capone. But he did nothing to counter the impression that he is a conniving con artist who will gladly look you in the eye and say that you owe him a billion dollars for having sex with his poodle.
So the line I will remember is when the Trumpster looked into the camera and said “I did not sleep with a porn star”. That speaks for itself. But even more so after we were treated just a few weeks ago to extensive testimony in a Manhattan courtroom that Trump did sleep with a porn star, and conspired to hide the fact from American voters by paying her off. Indeed, a jury convicted Trump of 34 felonies based on the factual premise that he had sex with Stormy Daniels and covered it up.
And then there is Trump’s extended nonsense that the 2020 election was rigged against him. My God! Over 60 judges rejected this argument, and after 3 years, no evidence of election fraud has been uncovered that would have affected the outcome of the election. To the contrary, Trump’s various surrogates who pressed this nonsense have faced severe legal consequences for their balderdash and outright lies. And yet “here we go again!” (paraphrasing Ronald Reagan’s comment from his debate with Jimmy Carter).
Am I alone in thinking that it is outrageous that a presidential candidate can act in this way and remain a candidate of a major political party?
At the same time, you have to scratch your head about good old Joe Biden. Joe is a good guy, and I suspect that in general, he gets good policy advice. But going back to 2020, he knew that his age was going to be a major factor in whether he could do two terms. A smart thing to do would have been to say “Guys, let’s start grooming someone else for 2024”. Another smart thing to do would have been to allow a primary season where various candidates could develop a national audience. But nope. Joe has gone full steam ahead, and now we can’t help but get a nervous twinge in our tummies that Joe’s capacity issues are a factor in the upcoming crucial election. Meanwhile, it is awfully late to be thinking of alternatives. Given what is at stake, we need this like a we need a hole in the head, or that we need a roll on the hay with Donald Trump’s imaginary poodle.
And let’s not forget that Donald Trump faces the same cognition issues. Indeed, up until last night, the conventional wisdom was that his dementia was getting worse day by day. We will see how that one plays out.
So what next? As the dust settles, there will be discussions among dems whether it is too late to ditch Biden. But who would replace him? Good question. Joe could redeem himself by getting out in the public and giving more robust performances … if he is up to it. And he may have no choice but to go for it.
Meanwhile Donald Trump will go on merry way until July 11th when Judge Merchan sentences him for his 34 felony convictions. And by then, the Supreme Court will likely have handed down their ruling on whether presidents are immune from prosecution for killing political opponents.
Unfortunately, American voters will have to scratch their heads and wonder whether anyone can take this stuff seriously. Sadly , we cannot keep repeating “It’s only a movie.”
Buzzography 