Junkie
I am a political “junkie”. I’ve watched Presidential debates since before I understood what they meant. When Kennedy and Nixon squared off in “black and white” in 1960, I was watching. As a newly turned four-year old, I probably didn’t grasp the finer points of the “missile gap” argument, but I watched. At twenty I was even more invested in 1976 when Ford and Carter debated. I was on the lowest rung of the Carter/Mondale paid staff. Watching was part of my job. And after that, as a teacher, watching debates was also part of my employment. Discussing the results was on the “lesson plan” for the next day. So I don’t think I’ve missed a Presidential debate in the last sixty years – damn!!
So I was ready last night. With my legal pad and pen, I was set to write down notes for this essay this morning. I was prepared for THE Presidential Debate, with the great issues of American life argued by the two people vying to lead our nation through what I consider the existential crisis in American history.
The pad is still blank – I didn’t write a word.
Junkyard Dog
Anyone who reads these essays know I have “a dog in this fight”. Just yesterday I wrote about the “closing argument” for electing Joe Biden as President of the United States. Unlike my classroom discussions of previous debates, I don’t take a neutral stance here. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I agree with many of Vice President Biden’s positions, and pretty much everything he was able to get out last night.
And I know President Trump’s history. I watched him “lurk” behind Hillary Clinton, somehow trying to intimidate her into submission four years ago. And we all know his shattered relationship with facts, even with fidelity to his own statements. Whatever he said yesterday means nothing, whatever serves his purpose at the moment is whatever he will say now. So I didn’t expect a “traditional” debate, where two serious people argue their views.
But what I saw last night was a fifteen-year old boy in a seventy-four year old body, doing everything he could to disrupt and distract. He’s that kid in the back of the room that would last five minutes in any good teacher’s class – then would be on his way down to the office for discipline. When I was a high school Dean of Students, responsible for a 1200 kid building, he was that student who was getting the last word, the last insult, even as I handed him his suspension papers. He was the one yelling as he went out the door, threatening and growling like a junkyard dog.
Issues
President Trump didn’t want to talk about any issues, other than the Russian disinformation about Hunter Biden swallowed whole by Senator Ron Johnson. His goal was simply to intimidate Joe Biden and moderator Chris Wallace. He didn’t have facts; he had insults. His plans; for the pandemic, for healthcare, for the economy, were whatever Joe Biden didn’t want. He was willing to support white supremacists, and spit on American norms. He was a bully and a jerk. “A**hole” is the only word that really describes his behavior.
Biden responded by defending himself, and demanding of the moderator some modicum of fairness and following of the agreed rules. He didn’t get it.
Biden insulted “the President”. He told him to “shut-up”, said he was the “worst President in history”, and called him a “clown”. There will be commentators this morning who will say that Biden “fell” for Trump’s plan, and lowered himself to Trump’s level. But it seems to me that Biden showed more patience than was humanly possible. And he often did exactly what he needed to do: he turned from the nonsense, and spoke directly to the American people about what he hopes to do to solve our problems.
America’s Problem
But last night made it clear what the ultimate problem is in America. It’s the petulant man who stood at the other podium, acting like a teenaged child.
What did Donald Trump gain from this strategy? He certainly didn’t “sway” any undecided voters. By the numbers, Donald Trump is six to ten points behind in the critical states he needs to carry. Last night’s performance did not move anyone to his side. And while maybe he hoped to motivate some of his Trump Base to “get excited” and go vote, social media indicates that didn’t work. No Trumper “switched” to Biden, but a whole lot of them were writing about “how bad they both were”. Even the MAGA hat supporters were talking about microphone switches and shock collars.
And if Trump’s strategy was to rattle Biden so badly that he either couldn’t talk (see – I made him stutter) or would lose his temper – that didn’t work either. If fitness to run the United States of America under pressure was the test, only one of those two failed miserably: Donald Trump.
My recommendation to Vice President Biden – make that the last debate. No one, even Trump supporters, wants to watch that spectacle again. It is the Trump campaign that has everything to gain and nothing to lose in debates. But that’s too bad for them. His behavior has earned him an “expulsion” from the podium.
