Here are some thoughts (and a few fact checks) about last night’s debate (sorry about the length):

1. It was terrible. Most people called it a shitshow. My two favorites, slightly more original, came from Jake Tapper and Stephen Colbert. Tapper: “This was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck.” Colbert: I feel like I did after seeing Phantom Menace. Do we really need two more?” This was a travesty of what, in the past 60 years, has become a core part of U.S. democratic elections. Wallace had zero control over the debate. This is not entirely his fault. Trump has never shown respect even for things he’s agreed to (like the debate rules). And Biden was right. Trump just can’t help himself. He simply has no impulse control.

2. This was not Biden’s debate to win, but Trump’s to lose. All Trump had to do was control his most basic impulses, as trained the past few weeks. All Biden had to do was survive the assault. Biden didn’t win; Trump lost. He interrupted Biden over 120 times and was both insulting and incoherent for much of it. He lacked in empathy, shame, morals, or decency. In short, he was his Twitter personified, in a way we didn’t see four years ago. As for Biden, if it was Trump’s job to rattle him, he barely succeeded. “Low energy” Biden held his own, if not exactly in a stellar, memorable way. He didn’t fall apart. He answered more tough questions than Trump did (there were notable absences). Compared to Trump’s rage, Biden could hardly help but look statesmanlike. And while Trump was railing about various things, Biden often looked directly in the camera and spoke directly to the American people. It was nice for a change seeing someone lowkey. This became a debate not about policy differences, but about tone, about character. Calm demeanor vs bombast. Plans vs four years of promises but no plans. In that sense, Biden won hands down.

3. I’m hearing a false equivalency, blaming both candidates equally. No. Trump interrupted Biden well over 100 times. Until the latter parts of the debate, Biden did not interrupt Trump. Instead, he would make an aside comment. Only toward the end did he return the interruption favor. Wallace noted this when Trump complained about not being treated fairly.

4. A CNN poll before the debate (skewed Democrats, and slightly less in Republicans, but a lot of Independents) predicted 56% to 43% that Biden would win the debate. After the debate, the poll showed 60% of respondents thought Biden won, only 28% Trump! Moreover, about a third said they’d vote for Biden based on this debate, a single tenth for Trump, and over half neither, such was their disgust. These figures show their disgust toward Trump. As I said, it was his to lose and in this group, the 43% pre-debate fell to 28% post-debate.

5. How many kids (as in minors) were excitedly watching their first debate, who now may swear off voting out of disgust, many perhaps forever? Many are probably liberal, since the under 40 crowd is more liberal, but many are almost certainly conservative. This is terrible for all.

6. It is worth noting that many, many Trump fans think Trump won and that Biden was terrible, or just a non-issue. They see with blinders on. Nearly all Democrats, most Independents and centrists, many non-Trump Republicans, and even some Trumpers, thought he was bad, including Governor Chris Christie, who help prep him. I’m talking about people text messaging each other, private messaging, posting on Facebook Walls, tweets, call-ins to radio and tv shows, and from better known people, official statements. Last night I saw people who ALWAYS defend Trump stand by appalled.

7. Trump (somewhat rightly) attacked Biden on his avoidance or weak answers on certain questions, notably about packing the Court; he never gave law enforcement endorsement answer, rejected the green new deal as his, and didn’t address the charges of wanting to defund the police. Trump alternately called Biden a socialist who was trying to grasp “radical left” votes, and told him some of his responses would lost the “radical left” votes. To the extent this turns out to be true, those voters are pieces of shit (pardon my French) who care more about their ideals than this country and its future. Meanwhile, Trump suffered no such problem, appealing to multiple groups. He aimed for his base and only his base. Here’s a reality check. A base can lose an election by abandoning its candidate. BUT a base CANNOT win an election on its own. Both sides require a minimal amount of third party candidates and they require independent voters. No matter how upset the far left gets at Biden trying to have it all ways, he is right. He can’t get elected without the base, but he also can’t get elected without centrists. Period. He cannot afford to let those votes go to Trump. Trump’s team probably tells him the same thing; he knows it, he just can’t play by the rules.

8. Trump claimed repeatedly there was and is fraud going on with mail-in ballots. Every single example he gave turned out to be either false or at best misleading. None was true.

9. He continues to say that the problem with forest fires out west are because they aren’t raking the floors. It’s been pointed out before and I’ll do it again: all the forests are on federal land. Why isn’t Trump out there raking? The answer is, he doesn’t care. He (wrongly) perceives those states as all Democrats, so who cares if they die or lose their property? That won’t go over well with the many conservatives on those states.

10. Trump proved his total lack of respect for the service and its members when he pivoted a few comments from Biden about his son Beau into an attack on his other son Hunter, even claiming Hunter was dishonorably discharged from the military. First off, that’s a lie and provably so. Hunter was not dishonorably discharged. Second, why couldn’t Trump have said “yes, Beau is a patriot and a hero and I sympathize with you over losing a son to cancer, but this doesn’t change that Hunter is _____ (fill in the blank with various lies about Hunter). He didn’t say it because he is incapable of saying it. Because he doesn’t care about service people, especially if they are known liberals. And today, service people are complaining about his words to Biden re: both Beau and Hunter.

11. Both Trump and Biden both spoke about suburbs. Trump claimed that if Biden were president we would lose suburbs, an absurd statement. The words seemed to be code for a scary invasion. Really? Does he even know how many suburbs are diverse? Mine certainly is. Invasion by whom? By what? I imagine it is pretty representative of most suburbs. Biden claimed that Trump wouldn’t know a suburb unless he took a wrong turn. They seems clearly true.

12. Trump said he brought back football. Uh, what? Aside from various COVID breakouts among teams (the upcoming Titans/Steelers game is postponed because the Titans have a breakout), is a presidential debate about policy really the place to suddenly bring up football?

13. Trump insulted Biden’s intelligence, without any reason. Again, a total lack of respect, and it is equally horrible that his supporters eat that kind of attitude up. Well, not all. As I said, many did not like his performance last night.

14. Biden had many lost opportunities and some I understand, others I shake my head over. He never answered the question about packing the court, clearly not wanting to anger centrists (though I don’t think Biden is for that anyway, nor are most Democrats). He didn’t reply about “law and order” endorsements, though he has about 200, from various unions, sheriffs and city police forces, and prosecutors, from local to federal level. I don’t think he need have worried, but when the left calls for defunding, he is walking a tightrope. He tried to defend the green new deal while reminding us it isn’t his plan. Again, trying to placate all quarters. He was asked if he had called the mayor of Portland to urge a better response against the violence going on. He rightly pointed out that he isn’t president and it isn’t his job. But I do think (especially as the Mayor is the same party) he could call even as a candidate, and if nothing else point out riots in an election year is bad optics. But the BIGGEST missed opportunity (to me anyway) was regarding the GOP hypocrisy on voting for Judge Barret, after their talk on Garland. Trump pointed out (rightly, I’m afraid) that he wasn’t elected for 3 years or 3 and a half but for 4 full years, and it is his right to make the nomination and the GOP-led Senate’s (also elected to full terms) right to confirm. Why on God’s green earth didn’t Biden point out that Obama was also elected four full years, and that the GOP-led Senate didn’t vote against Garland, as they could have done; rather, they refused to even consider him. That isn’t the same thing. NOTE: that said, I do believe had the situation been reversed in 2016 and 2020, the Dems would have done the same. Just sayin’.

15. Biden’s strongest moment. His Go Vote speech to the camera (the viewers). “Nuff said.

16. People are all bent out of shape over Biden calling Trump “clown” and a couple other comments. While I disapprove of those comments (which were said in frustration over the constant interruptions), I can’t take the complaints seriously, in defense of a man who not only leveled his own set of insults against Biden (including his intelligence), and personalizing attacks against his son that weren’t even true, but a man who has made a professional career out of insulting the competition.

17. People, right and left, have attacked Biden for the crime bill, passed in an era of very high crime rates and which everyone (including Biden) now says was a bad law. Nothing je has done recently would be considered “anti-Black”.Last night, Trump was reminded how often he has claimed to have done more for Blacks than anyone but Lincoln. Funny enough, Trump rambled and didn’t really elaborate.I thought I’d share this, an incomplete list of all the things Trump has done, suggesting he does not support minorities or people of color anywhere in the world, care of CNN:

In the 70s, Trump discriminated against black tenants. In the 80s, he called for the death penalty for the Central Park 5, who were later proved innocent. In the 90s, he was fined for discriminating against black employees. In 2005, he pitched a version of “Apprentice” that pitted black vs whites. In 2011, he pushed the Obama birther conspiracy. In 2015, he called Mexican immigrants “rapists” who are “bringing crime”. In 2015, called for a Muslim ban. In 2016, he refused to condemn former KKK leader David Duke. In 2017, he said “fine people” were on “both sides” in Charlottesville. In 2018, he called NFL players protesting police brutality, “sons of bitches”. In 2018, he referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole” countries. In 2020, he called COVID-19 the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu”. In 2020, he suggested Sen. Kamala Harris isn’t a US citizen. In 2020, he is working to stop diversity training at federal agencies. In 2020, he is working to roll back fair housing rules to “save suburbs” from being invaded by PoC. In 2020, he defends the Confederate flag despite Pentagon ban. And in 2020, he refuses to condemn white supremacists, telling the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”.

18. My final comment is about Trump’s complete disregard for democracy and yes, law and order (contradicting what he says). He declined to ask his supporters to behave themselves, during the election, waiting on results, after. Most HORRIBLY, he declined to condemn white supremacy. He was asked to, said he would, but then, when (at request given the name Proud Boys, an Alt-Right group the ADL and the administration call a terrorist organization) said “stand back and stand by”. Separately, about the election, he had threatened “beware” and talked of having poll watchers come (Alt Right with guns?). All these comments together suggest that Trump is afraid he is losing and that he is willing to take the country down with him. As for the Proud Boys, for those who aren’t in the know, they are a group claiming to be “pro Western civilization), but they are made up mostly of working class white men, who are demonstrably racist, xenophobic, misogynist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Muslim. Their public persona as a gosh gee, we are just defending ourselves. Yet they come to rallies and engage protestors dressed in full tactical gear, with guns, bats, bass knuckles, clearly looking for violence. And today, their so-called CEO has announced they are swearing fealty to Trump and selling T-shirts, on a clear recruiting mission. He also said, of Trump’s comment “stand back and stand by” that Trump approves of their violence and to keep doing it. Just freaking unbelievable.