Interpreting the Presidential Debate

IMO, Trump did fairly well in last night’s debate, insofar as he appeared to be in control of his faculties; I think we can agree that he seemed less blatantly unhinged and sociopathic than he did last time.

The problem, really, is that almost everything he says is false, and Biden doesn’t gain anything by pinning him down.  Is Biden a puppet of China?  Of course not, but how much time and energy needs to go into that refutation? 

The debate format favors the participant who lies without restraint; it’s so easy to get away with the lies in the moment in which they’re made.

It’s good that we’re at the end of this, though it has proved a few things:

As we’ve come to see, Trump is very good at slinging his bull****.  It’s forceful, and if it were true, it would be compelling.  His viewers actually believe that what they’re hearing is the truth, and so he’s done very little to damage his standing with his base.

Biden doesn’t have quite the level of power in his rhetoric, but his content is mostly factual and his thoughts are completely coherent.  Those who are told that he’s undergoing dementia must be scratching their heads.

Again, glad it’s over.  Let’s move on to the main event.  Vote.