Our writers on the first presidential debate.
 | By John Guida Politics Editor, Opinion |
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Hi, I’m John Guida, a politics editor here on the Opinion desk. After last night’s chaotic presidential debate, we collected reactions and analysis from 16 writers and columnists. Exclusively for readers of this newsletter, here’s what four of them thought mattered most. |
Americans don’t trust Trump to handle the coronavirus, they don’t particularly like him, they aren’t particularly scared of Biden, and all of those facts still matter more than anything we saw tonight. |
What mattered most? Biden did not fall apart or let Trump beat him up or give any ground. This will reassure his twitchier supporters, who were fearing the worst. Trump partly has himself to blame. He and his team spent so much time questioning Biden’s mental fitness that the vice president needed only to stay awake for the full 90 minutes in order to beat expectations. There’s no way anyone was going to fall asleep during that food fight. |
This debate was disgraceful and painful to watch; everyone knows the reason was Trump. The psychological effect of this debate will be fairly profound on the majority of Americans, which is, “I can’t bear four more years of this.” Trump is the most intensely unlikable candidate in American history, and that matters. |
When Biden explained in simple terms why it’s important to be kind — not just from the standpoint of individual relationships, but for the survival of liberal democracy — he hit upon something crucial. This form of government requires certain virtues and a willingness to understand things from different points of view is one of them. I would argue that willingness to understand is a form of love, and one that isn’t easily inculcated into hardened hearts. Biden didn’t say all of that, of course, and I’m not sure he would endorse it. But he did set his sights on something much more critical, in that short speech, than specific policies or elections. |
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Here’s what we’re focusing on today: |
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