The first presidential debate last night set off a torrent of tweets, posts and conversations.
Not surprisingly, proponents of each candidate have proclaimed theirs won the debate. In reality, I believe, neither won and America lost.
What we and, unfortunately, the world witnessed in real time was a president going off the rails, being a bully and doing some very upsetting and concerning things such as refusing to condemn white supremacy and practically calling on his followers to go to the polls to intimidate voters and not necessarily accept the outcome of the election if it doesn’t go in his favor.
As I watched last night, I got upset with both Trump and Biden – Trump for being his usual obnoxious and bullying self and not staying on topic or within the debate rules, and Biden for not being forceful enough on some important points like the president’s response to the pandemic or his failure to pay his fair share of taxes. It got so bad that we turned the debate off for about 30 minutes and watched a mindless comedy we had DVR’d.
And then, in the aftermath, we saw how the public responded. Again, I recognize that Trump’s loyalists thought he did well. But I also saw how so many others – not only Democrats, but undecided and even some thinking Republican voters, were horrified at Trump’s conduct on stage and how so many people responded favorably to Biden’s calm and steady demeanor.
Going forward, IF there are more debates, the debate rules and general decorum must be maintained. The moderator needs to be much more forceful and, if after one or two warnings there’s still no decorum, the offender’s microphone should be shut off until he gets back to adhering to the rules. No interruptions on either side, and no childish name-calling. Such actions demean the entire process and insult the American public.