Are you ready for the debate?

I am incredibly excited for Thursday night’s debate. I’ve got all my supplies:

One of the truths about political cycles is that a lot of people don’t generally pay attention until after Labor Day. Sure, sure, political junkies like yours truly never actually ignore politics, but MOST people have regular lives and don’t pay a lot of attention. This debate will be the first time that many people see and hear the current state of President Biden and Convicted Felon Trump.

I predict that there will be a huge audience. For those of us who still watch actual television, it will be broadcast on CNN (which is hosting the debate), and simulcast on all other major networks. In addition, for those without cable access, it will be livestreamed on cnn.com (no login necessary), usatoday.com and likely other outlets by Thursday.

It will start at 9 pm ET, and it will be recast several times on CNN due to interest from their international audiences. Most channels will also have pre- and post-game shows. I have been unable to find out, so far, if there will be live monitors of audience responses.

So why am I looking forward?

First and foremost, Convicted Felon Trump is unhinged. I know this from having watched him speak over the last several months. He lacks the cognitive ability to stay on track, and even if he could, he has boxed himself into corners on issues such as abortion and tariffs. He won’t be able to menace President Biden the way he did Secretary Clinton in 2016. Due to mike-muting, he won’t be able to expound without interruption. He will be limited to 2-minute answers and 1-minute responses. While that will play well to his base, the most important group of viewers (those on the fence) will want more than “I’ll make America great again” and “It will be the best administration ever.” If you’d like to watch some video from last weekend, it’s the first story in this compendium. Watch, if you can, and then think about the fact that these were meltdowns in front of friendly audiences: these things will play far worse to a more general audience.

The contrast to the President will be stark. Let’s take abortion. I imagine that Jake Tapper will start with Convicted Felon Trump and ask a question along the lines of: “You’ve said that because of the SCOTUS Justices you appointed, Roe v Wade was overturned, and it’s now left to the states. Would you support a national ban? And if so, at how many weeks?”

Convicted Felon Trump will talk about states rights, if he remembers, which will anger the Evangelicals, or will say that abortion is murder, which will infuriate the 80% of Americans who believe abortion should be legal. He will be unable to enunciate a coherent plan.

President Biden? “I believe this health care decision should be left to a woman and her doctor.” And then he’ll use the rest of his time to talk about something else, calmly and clearly, likely the imperative to keep IVF and birth control legal and available. Remember that 15% of Americans believe that Roe was overturned under Biden. This will set them straight.

Tariffs? President Biden will talk about targeted tariffs that make sense in certain industries, while Convicted Felon Trump will fall back on his 100% tariffs on everything from China. A thought on that from Erick Erickson, a conservative pundit:

Next, I believe that this debate will energize Democratic and other Biden voters. That chatter about “he’s too old”? This election is not a contest between President Biden and some 35-year-old, it’s between the two guys who will be on the debate stage, and one will come off as older than he used to be but still competent, the other will come off as nuts. Most importantly, the positions going forward for 2025 and beyond will resonate, as President Biden looks forward and doesn’t rest on his laurels. For example, he will likely point out that insulin is now $35/month, but the work is not done, and his administration will work to get more and more drug costs down.

President Biden will likely also draw glaring contrasts between what his administration has done, and what the previous administration did. He might talk about the national debt, and how much was due to each administration. Here’s a comparison:

Let’s not forget about immigration. President Biden was in favour of the bipartisan Senate approach to comprehensive immigration reform, while Convicted Felon Trump made sure his minions killed it, and he wants to have immigrants fight for sport.

I could go on, but I think you’ve got the idea. It’s been well-reported that everywhere he speaks, Convicted Felon Trump encourages his MAGA-heads to tune in on Thursday. While a small percentage of them are at those rallies (sometimes by being paid attendees), most of his followers are awaiting him, and will likely NOT see the man they revered in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Biden campaign (and groups such as the Democratic Party, Mobilize and others) are organizing both in-person and virtual watch parties across the country. If you’re interested, just Google “Join a Biden Debate Watch Party” and your location to find local options.

So get ready! Pop that popcorn, settle in, and be prepared to see the difference between a statesman and a maniac.

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1 Remember that it is the DEMOCRATIC Party and not the “Democrat” party. The only reason for saying the latter is to buy into the right’s view that our party is NOT about Democracy. Here’s the history. ALWAYS say “Democratic” Party and correct everyone else.