The CNN "Dumpster Fire" Presidential Debate
A contrast in values...
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I hesitate to write anything so quickly after last night’s debate, but I didn’t sleep much so I wrote for awhile and finished it now. I also hesitate to write anything about politics at all unless I have a fresh angle, or see something different than others do.
I think I see opportunity moving forward. But we must confront the truth of last night. Biden’s performance was a disaster leading the Democratic party into crisis.
In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity.
―Albert Einstein
Let’s Begin with Trump
Before I get to the opportunities, let’s look at the debate, beginning with Trump.
Trump is a wannabe dictator who will usher in a fascist state. He and other Republicans have told us that. Believe them.
But much of the media coverage of the debate begins not with the threat Republicans pose to democracy, but with the weaknesses Biden showed. The Associated Press had perhaps the most egregious headline that I saw on KCCI-TV’s website this morning.
Biden opens debate with raspy voice, several verbal missteps in attempts to criticize Trump
Unconsionable.
How about this for a headline instead?
Biden flops, but Trump will destroy democracy
Say it ain’t so, Joe
I first interviewed Joe Biden in 2007 before the Iowa 2008 Iowa caucuses. He’s a much-diminished man, as we all saw if you watched the CNN debate. He was a diminished man before the 2020 election too. I saw him several times, and he seemed to be fading away even then—growing paler and more ghostlike every time I saw him.
Last night he looked cadaverous.
His skin was nearly translucent, and if it had sloughed off of his body and slid to the ground exposing his skeletal structure and inner organs I wouldn’t have been surprised.
His eyes were so wide with disbelief every time Trump spoke it made me wonder if he had been in an isolation chamber since 2015 and wasn’t familiar with Trump. On occasion he looked like someone had walked up and slapped him.
He mumbled, lost his train of thought, and was occasionally confused. He had difficulty walking, and it’s hard to believe that just a little over two years ago he recovered well after falling off a bike.
Last night as he walked on stage I thought it wouldn’t be long until he needed a walker.
CNN did a Terrible Job
Trump lies nearly every time he opens his mouth, and CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash didn’t do anything to fact-check him in real-time. That was irresponsible journalism. I read before the debate that they didn’t intend to fact-check Trump or Biden, in part because it would be difficult. That’s a lame excuse. They could have. Daniel Dale could also have done it with chyrons in real-time.
Tapper and Bash were useless and gutless. How they could just sit there and not say anything is unbelievable.
I’ve looked at several fact-checks of the debate, and that Trump lied so many times isn’t surprising. What is surprising is the times Biden “misspoke.”
I’m not going to say “lie” because Biden “misspoke.” For example, Biden said he lowered the cost of insulin to “$15” when it is actually “$35.”
It was an unnecessary mistake. A mistake he shouldn’t have made, which may be indicative of his cognitive decline.
As my friend and fellow Iowa Writers Collaborative member Dave Busiek shared this morning:
Every American who either strongly suspected or had a sneaking suspicion Biden is not up to the job had those thoughts fulfilled last night. Biden sounded weak and too old for the job.
The Debate was a “Dumpster Fire”
From the Washington Post:
“How are none of the moderators fact-checking this post-birth abortion nonsense??” Kate Smith, senior director of news for Planned Parenthood, wrote on X. “That was a dumpster fire.”
Ameshia Cross, a Democratic strategist, called Trump “an assertive and authoritative liar” and said that “not having fact-checking was a dumb decision.”
Heather Cox Richardson has a level headed and emotionless analysis of the debate this morning, making the case for Biden. I don’t disagree with a word she wrote.
Then why do I have this sick feeling in my stomach that started a few minutes into the debate and persists to this moment?
It’s Not about Trump or Biden
The Washington Post reports that Democrats are panicking. They don’t need to panic, they need to be clear headed and tell the truth.
Two years ago I wrote a column titled “It’s not about Trump.” I wrote that anti-democratic forces were at work were using Trump to help usher in an authoritarian theocratic state.
Now I’m writing that it’s not about Joe Biden.
I recently wrote that Joe Biden is the best president of my lifetime. It’s true. The accomplishments of his administration are legion. But it isn’t about what Joe Biden has accomplished—it is about what his administration has done under his leadership. The work would continue if he beat Trump this fall, but it would also continue if he stepped down and another Democrat wins.
Trump’s dystopian picture of our country bears little relationship to reality. His statements bear little relation to the truth. The fact of the matter is where he veers toward the truth, the problems he steers toward are problems generated by Republican ideology and action. Republicans haven’t wanted government to work since the 1980’s and have done there best to undermine it. There was a bipartisan effort to address the border, and he blocked it. The only reason that we have environmental legislation in the post-Nixon era is because Democrats fought for it. Income inequality has only increased under Republican administrations and they gleefully fight for increased corporate control and power. Under Republican control unions and public schools are diminished, rights taken away, while Democrats fight for our freedoms and economic power.
It’s not about Joe Biden. It’s about the values Democrats bring to the table.
I could go on and on. I could write better. More powerfully. Make a better argument. Maybe I will, but this is enough for now.
It’s time for Joe Biden to step aside
If it were most of us in a similar position our family and friends would have intervened long ago. His should now.
If Biden steps aside, he will be seen as a hero. Those who seek to replace him will sing his virtues, as the man who brought us back from a disastrous Trump presidency. Democrats will dominate the media cycle through the convention and take that momentum through the election, and hopefully to victory.
If he continues and loses, he risks a similar legacy to that of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, another Democrat who hung on for far too long.
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