Just re-watched the debate

[Ohioboy]

I feel totally better after seeing it again. Please watch it again. Biden answered every question and knew what he was talking about. He may have had a hoarse voice, and yes he stammered and make a few mistakes (which he corrected himself mid- sentence a few times), but he didn't knowingly lie and distract.

This was not a man with dementia, or even a bad memory. Biden knew what he was talking about. It just didn't help that he was debating a total liar.

[Joe Cool]

1. Exactly

Biden did sound terrible and was far from the most eloquent speaker, but he did answer the questions and was in more command of the facts that the convicted felon.
The convicted felon didn't actually many of the questions and came off as a delusional liar. His solution to child care and climate change is the border.

[wryter2000]

3. IMHO the biggest problem

Was the camera on him when he wasn't speaking. He held his head down, his eyes nearly closed, and sometimes his mouth open.

As I said below, though, the debate didn't cause serious harm and may have just rallied the base.

[OnDoutside]

12. Actually that's a very good point about having his head down, which he has done in previous debates, probably to

look at his notes, but it would be better if either they change the rules for the next debate that the camera can't be on him when he's not speaking, or he keeps his head up.

[Ohioboy]

4. I heard Biden had a cold which didn't help his delivery. I hate doing anything with a cold

Plus, it's got to be rough going 90 minutes with a total asshole liar like Trump. I give Biden credit for the stamina.

The thing I got most from watching it again was the way Trump didn't know what he was talking about.

[soldierant]

15. I've had exactly that cough

as a result of post-nasal drip from allergies. It's infuriating. You know the mucus is down there but you just can't get it out. Yes, respiratory illnesses can also produce it.

There is a technique of coughig that does get it out, but requires time and patience and you couldn't really do it during a debate. The trick is to start by exhaling, then coughing, then inhale and exhale again just a wee bit less and cough again. Repeat, each time exhaling just a little less. By the time you can inhale and cough, you should be able to get it all. But - as I say - you couldn't do it in a debate. It can't be completed in 2 minutes, and that would be your longest interval without having to speak.

[wryter2000]

2. I know he doesn't have dementia

I know he's been a great president and will continue to be. The problem is he looked so old and frail. Bear in mind, he'll be 85 or 86 at the end of his second term.

Having said that, let me add that "the problem" has been greatly overblown and things are already picking back up, including successful fundraising immediately post-debate. But most people won't watch the debate again, and people here don't really need to.

[murielm99]

13. My mother has dementia.

Joe does not have dementia. I know it when I see it.

Trump is the one with the dangerous diagnosis. He is a narcissist.

[BootinUp]

5. It's going to be a rough couple of months

The fact that his campaign did not have him well rested and prepared for an appearance is really hard to believe. He was mumbling hoarsely when he came out on stage.

If he was feeling that off they should have had him withdraw and reschedule. I don’t question Biden’s fitness, but the optics did a lot of damage and now we are in a hole.

[COL Mustard]

14. The next debate is in September so I'll be interested

In seeing how he performs then. Won't change my vote even if he bombs, but that's an opportunity for him to show a SOTU-like performance and cement things. Thursday will be forgotten by then.

I plan to happily vote for Joe as soon as I can (early voting in VA starts I think 45 days before the election), so that's shortly after that debate IIRC. No way in Hell am I ever going to vote for that convicted felon and serial liar.

[GreatAuntK]

6. His Cough

I was heartened by the President's speeches the day after the debate. He was fierce and clear, and he did the fact-checking that was missing during the debate. But I noticed his cough was deep, like it was in his chest. He was ill, it was obvious when he walked on the stage, not himself that night. But read the transcript. He made sense. Trump was gas lighting, throwing out so many lies off topic they had to ask the question again - and Biden trying to grapple with all the lies. Heather Cox Richardson said the method is called The Gish Gallop.

I transcribed this from the Nicole Wallace show yesterday. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Professor of History, NYU (on Deadline White House):
"I study professional liars who are very charming, they're amazing performers, and they turn political events into spectacles for authoritarian purposes.

If we think about this debate, a real debate in democracy is supposed to provide voters with accurate information so they can make a choice. Trump came there for a totally different purpose, an authoritarian purpose - to spew as much propaganda, as many lies as possible. And he got a lot in, so he could indoctrinate people to his fake reality.

So Biden was placed in a very difficult position because there was no live fact checking. And we know from studying propaganda you’ve gotta have instant refutation. And so number one it’s really kind of sad that because Trump lied with such vigor, with such dynamism, he's hailed as the winner.

The other thing is and you can substitute X for Biden if you have a favorite alternate Democrat. That person would’ve been stuck refuting all of Trump lies the whole time because of the lack of live fact checking from moderators, and thus wouldn’t have been able to make her case to the American public about the agenda. And Trump knows all that...."

(I've been lurking on DU since Shock and Awe. I always tell my friends to check out DU because you are on top of current events, the differences of opinion are usually cordial, but lies get called out pretty quick.)

[dutch777]

7. Leads to the question of what people vote for...the image or the substance? I worry too much of the former and...

...not enough of the latter. We will see.

[tableturner]

8. 99% of those who watched WILL NOT watch it again.

[BootinUp]

9. lol. And that is just a rough guess.

Not the point that needs to be made probably.

Here is the question and it is for Joe to answer. Can he and his campaign set the expectations realistically going forward and win this thing. I prefer not to be sleep walked to the guillotine.

His campaign needs to fix the messaging.

[Hope22]

11. Well...

There are cards to be written, new voters to be registered, calls to be made. Everyone has a job that can be done to make sure we are marked guillotine safe for four more years. Personally I think if they sign the president up for another debate the man needs more than 60 seconds to get his point across! A professional liar needs much less time to spew random garbage!

[homegirl]

10. Watch Trump

without sound. Grimacing and grinding his jaw.

I knew someone who was medicated as treatment for schizophrenia, exactly the same facial contortions due to the medication.

The eye rolls and shoulder shrugs are an added affect!!!!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

16. Biden lacked oomph, but the transcript tells a different tale

The content of President Biden's responses was accurate and actually made great points.

Link to tweet

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4745771-biden-lacked-oomph-but-the-transcript-tells-a-different-tale/

President Biden obviously did not have a good night in his debate with Donald Trump. The White House claimed he had a cold. His soft voice and bumbling manner played right into the MAGA narrative that he is past his use-by date. The chattering class said it was a disaster for Biden. He even alarmed many Democrats.

But, reading the cold transcript, we get a very different picture of Biden. Substantively, he ably and forcefully made the case that that Trump should not be allowed back in the Oval Office.

While the timbre of Biden’s voice was soft, and he occasionally lost his train of thought, he struck some hard and telling blows. Let’s review the transcript.

On his age: “I spent half my career being criticized being the youngest person in politics. I was the second-youngest person ever elected to the United States Senate. And now I’m the oldest. This guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent. I think that just look at the record. Look what I’ve done. Look how I’ve turned around the horrible situation he left me.”

On Trump’s character: Trump is legally and morally compromised. He is a convicted felon, and had sex with an adult movie actress while his wife was pregnant. He accosted E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room. It is no answer that Hunter Biden is also a convicted felon. Hunter Biden is not running for president.

On Trump’s place in history: Historians rate Trump the worst president in our 230-year history.

On NATO: Trump wants to get out of NATO. “You’re going to stay in NATO or you’re going to pull out of NATO?” “Our strength lies in our alliances.”......

It was Trump who demonstrably lied in the debate, lied with the utmost self-assurance, evaded questioning with irresponsive answers bristling with alternative facts and lame denials. Biden was on message. I only wish he had had more oomph.

My bottom line: Disaster may not be irretrievable. To put it starkly, here’s the deal: Vote for a convicted felon trying to lie his way back into power or vote for someone who has proven he can get the job done. I make no excuses for Biden, but as Adelaide lamented in “Guys and Dolls,” “A person can develop a bad, bad cold.”