Watch? Cringe? Abstain? All about tonight's high-stakes debate
Watch? Cringe? Abstain? All about tonight's high-stakes debate
A look ahead, plus an objectionable New York Times story about Biden
Although a lot of people are adamant that they have no intention of looking in on tonight’s presidential debate, I have a feeling they’ll change their minds when 9 p.m. rolls around. The Associated Press reported this week that most Americans (six of 10) plan to watch at least some of the debate.
After all, the fate of the nation — and to some extent the world — rests on November’s presidential election. The stakes are extremely high. Biden needs to appear energetic and vigorous; Trump needs not to appear as unhinged as he has been in his recent rallies.
I’ll be watching, of course, because I’ll write a deadline column for the Guardian US tonight, immediately after the debate ends.
I talked about what to expect — and what I’ll be looking for — with Mary Harris, for her daily “What Next” podcast on Slate, which published this morning. We discussed the format (no studio audience, mics shut off unless it’s the candidate’s turn, and Donald Trump getting the final word because President Biden got to choose his preferred stage position).
One point of controversy is that CNN’s political director David Chalian has declared that the moderators, for the most part, won’t be trying to fact-check the candidates during the debate. They will merely “facilitate” so as not to become participants, and the fact checks will come afterwards. That’s a mistake. Yes, fact-checking could slow down the pace, but the alternative is that the fire hose of Trump’s lies will be spewed out into the public unchecked — again — and that Biden will spend precious time and energy countering them. Haven’t we had enough of that?
The excellent Amanda Marcotte at Salon has a different view. Let him lie, and let people absorb that, she argues.
The single biggest obstacle for Biden's re-election right now is that so many Americans, especially low-information swing voters, have forgotten who Trump is. The debate could be a critical moment to refocus people on what scares them the most about Trump, which is his larger sociopathic approach to politics, of which lying is only a small part. The man has been convicted of 34 felonies and is facing three more felony trials. That he's a liar is a given. What viewers need to understand is how Trump's lies and crimes affect them.
You can listen to the full Slate podcast here.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts before, during and after the debate — in the comments below or on social media, where I post in the usual places.
But while we’re here, I also want to draw your attention to an ill-advised article this week in the New York Times: “Trump Suggests Biden May Get ‘a Shot’ Before the Debate.” Commenting on this in an email to me, Doug Bennett, president emeritus of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, said he was “beyond disgusted” by the piece, observing: “There is not a scintilla of evidence to support this accusation provided by Trump and none by the Times.” He goes on (and I can’t resist quoting him at length here, while noting that the tepid term “baseless accusation” does now appear in the online version of the story):
Nothing in the New York Times article informs readers that this is an allegation made by a beyond-proven serial liar for whom smears are an everyday tactic. Nothing in the New York Times article informs readers that this is an allegation made by someone who oversaw a White House that was awash in overly-available opioids and uppers as documented by a Department of Defense’s Inspector General report in January 2024.
Well said, President Bennett. In the old days, newspaper editors’ desks included a spike onto which stories that were rejected or found unworthy could be stabbed and forever put out of their misery. So, using that old expression, this Times piece clearly should have been spiked.
I’ll see you on the other side of the debate. Thanks for subscribing. Welcome to a bunch of new subscribers; you are much appreciated.
Thanks for your notes. I checked the NYTs propaganda hit about Biden and uppers. Disgusting for a paper that allegedly reports all the news that's fit to print. I emailed Joe Kahn and the reporters to object to what they consider journalism.
I spent the beginning of a therapy session on this; as you said in your lede, neither therapist nor patient knows what they are going to do at 9 tonight. But I think I'm in. I'm expecting Trump to speak early as if he's debating Hunter Biden, and Joe Biden will be ready to retort.