Last night's CNN-hosted debate has sent aftershocks through the Democratic Party over the poor performance of President Biden, who stumbled in his answers in a voice was low and raspy, and who looked dazed at times. The Malignant Loser meanwhile peppered Biden with one lie and distortion after another with no real time fact checking. The Biden campaign was hoping that the Malignant Loser's unhinged rally persona would show up, but he left it outside. Some commentaries on the debate:
The WaPo's Aaron Blake with an assessment:
"Biden came out raspy and with relatively little vigor or inflection in his voice. He stumbled over his words and lines of argument. Perhaps the most striking example came as he tried to make an early point about health care, failing to finish his thought before his time was up. [snip]
Later in the debate, Biden sought to get a little feistier, referring to Trump as a “whiner” over his statements that Capitol riot defendants were too harshly treated. He called him a “loser” and a “child.” But the points didn’t land with much force, just like much of Biden’s performance.
Shortly after the debate, Democrats set about fretting about Biden’s candidacy in a way we haven’t seen before — one top former Biden White House aide called his performance “really disappointing” — and the worries will probably continue in the days ahead. [snip]
It’s no surprise at this point, but Trump’s performance included his usual stream of false and misleading claims.
They included his false claim to having capped insulin costs before Biden did; blue states executing babies after birth; there being no terrorist attacks on his watch; Biden’s wanting to quadruple people’s taxes; and Biden’s having indicted him. (There is no evidence of Biden’s involvement in the cases.) [snip]
Trump largely filibustered, repeating his false claims, mostly without fact-checking by Biden and not really at all by the debate moderators (who decided beforehand that it wasn’t their role). Biden struggled to make his points and drive the contrasts in a way that deprived the proceedings of much flow, though he did counter some of Trump’s claims."
As for reactions from Dem officials, and what options lie ahead, there are examples here, here and here.
The consensus is that Biden damaged his reelection campaign with last night's performance. Key Dem elected officials, State party chairs, major donors and political influencers have to assess how much damage was done, whether the campaign is salvageable and whether he can be a viable candidate to stop the Malignant Loser's march toward American fascism. Not time for panic, but for cool, dispassionate heads.
(photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
