Where were the drugs that enhanced President Biden's debate Thursday night and, more importantly, can his supporters now access them to dull memories of his weak performance during the 90-minute live broadcast?
The most-watched television event since the Super Bowl was bad for Biden, but more than that, it set off a seismic wave of concern among Democrats about where to go next.
Biden missed opportunity after opportunity to counter former President Trump’s distortions on immigration, the economy, the opioid crisis and even his own health. The 81-year-old candidate appeared subdued and impassive during the event, often standing with his mouth open (he was reportedly nursing a cold). He spent much of his allotted speaking time in the weeds, unsuccessfully trying to spin impenetrable political details into broader talking points. He hesitated in his answers, his voice barely audible at some points.
It was a disappointing performance that did nothing to dispel attacks from the right – and concerns from the left – that he is too old for the job.
More than that, his anemic performance left many supporters wondering whether it was time to replace Biden with a candidate capable of standing up to the deception and intimidation of Trump and his henchmen.
The collective anxiety on social media and among experts reflected the real problem at the center of the Atlanta debate.
Biden had a bad night, but America had a much worse one because he didn't have a strong voice to counter the danger Trump poses to democracy.
Trump dominated the debate with confidence and showmanship, speaking in generalities that sidestepped actual political discourse, ringing the MAGA Pavlovian bell about murderous immigrants, taking credit in response to questions about the economy, abortion and war. With little pushback from his opponent and none from CNN moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, Trump’s lies won the night.
CNN's rules before the live broadcast stated that its hosts would not fact-check the candidates' answers during the debate and that each contestant's microphone would be muted when it was the other candidate's turn to speak. The rules worked in Trump's favor.
The former president seemed much more civil and controlled than usual because viewers couldn't hear him interrupt or talk about Biden. He was also allowed to rest unhindered. He claimed that as president he had the “best environmental numbers” and “the largest economy in the history of the country!” He said Democrats want abortions up to birth and after. And he suggested that Nancy Pelosi rejected her offer to send National Guard troops to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to quell an insurrection he helped foment.
Biden’s ineffective or entirely absent responses also allowed his opponent’s racist comments to go unnoticed. Trump attempted to insult Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war by saying of the incumbent, “He’s become a Palestinian.” As if that were a big insult. Casual racism against Arabs, and more specifically Palestinians, was one of many moments that went unchallenged in a poorly designed debate that allowed misinformation to become truth. Trump also said illegal immigrants were taking “blacks jobs.” What exactly is a “blacks job?” No one bothered to ask.
Compare that to a 2008 town hall when Republican presidential candidate John McCain took the microphone away from a woman who said she couldn't trust his opponent, Barack Obama, because he was “Arab.” “No, ma’am,” she said. “He is a decent family man. a citizen who [I just] It turns out that we have disagreements on fundamental issues, and that's what the campaign is about.” Not a great answer, but illuminating compared to today's Republican Party.
Colin Powell later said of right-wing attacks that Obama was a Muslim: “The correct answer is, he’s not a Muslim; he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really correct answer is, ‘What if he is?’ Is there anything wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that’s not America.”
During Thursday's debate, there was no chance Trump was going to talk about policy because he doesn't have one, or even two. He's based on grievances and revenge, and he went down that path on Thursday because there was no one there to call him out on it.
CNN's handling of the debate broke with decades of tradition in which the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates facilitated and managed the debate process. The debate, broadcast from a CNN studio without an audience in Atlanta, is likely to offer the cable news network's largest audience in its four-decade history.
That's a terrifying prospect.
Thursday’s debate will require some tough choices from Democrats. Does the party stick with Biden and risk losing the country, or does it lead someone who has the energy and voice to fight back against the bulldozer that is Trump and MAGA?
If Thursday's debate is any indication, the stakes are too high to leave things as they are.
