When it comes to debates, performance is just as important as substance. On that count, Thursday’s debate was not a good night for President Joe Biden.
As an adviser to then-candidate Biden ahead of the 2020 debates, I did not see him at his best, especially at the beginning. The fire we saw at Biden’s triumphant State of the Union this year wasn’t there, although he did get progressively better as the evening went on.
Thursday’s debate was not a shouting match, and for that we can all be grateful.
Presidential debates are rare side-by-side moments allowing candidates to make their cases directly to voters, and they are also important fundraising moments. Debates are about contrast, which usually means substantive policy discussions, although the last eight years have conditioned many Americans to expect shouting matches, instead.
Thursday’s debate was not a shouting match, and for that we can all be grateful. It was also a rare moment when voters have the benefit of seeing how the two candidates would fare in the White House. One worked to undermine our democracy, the other to expand it. One was convicted by a jury on dozens of felony counts; the other respects the judicial process that convicted his own son. One repeatedly failed to pass legislation even when his party controlled Congress; the other passed landmark bills while working across the aisles.
Those differences should matter, and the 90-minute debate could have illuminated them. It was an opportunity for Biden to speak to the American people about those differences and to talk more about the future than the past. On both fronts, the president fell short.
Predictably, Biden’s poor performance led to some chatter about his stepping down and letting someone else be the nominee. This is not going to happen. He is the Democratic nominee just as Donald Trump is the Republican nominee. When November comes, voters will have to choose between them.
There are a little more than four months between now and Election Day, even less than that until the first ballots are cast in early voting. It’s tight, but Biden still has time to make his case.
After all, presidential campaigns are about fighting all the way until the end.
For more thought-provoking insights from Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, watch “The Weekend” every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on MSNBC.
