The So-called Presidential Debate

I don’t expect much from the upcoming direct confrontation between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. I hesitate to call it a debate. I was on the debate team in high school and I know what a debate is. These spectacles are informative and they can be consequential as was proven by Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential campaign after his confrontation with Mr. Trump. But they are not debates. The moderator asks a question and the candidate answers with a stump speech talking point that seems to be at least tangentially related to the question. The opposing candidate responds, not by addressing the points made by the speaker, but by claiming the speaker is a liar or delusional.

Nevertheless, I will watch this spectacle closely. I don’t expect anything new from Mr. Trump. He is well known and his tirades and talking points have become routine. But I will pay close attention to the performance of Ms. Harris. I will be looking at three things.

One will be her demeanor. She is well known for talking in word salads and laughing inappropriately. If she is to be president she needs to be able to communicate clearly and only laugh at funny stuff. She seems appropriately presidential on the campaign trail while reading from a teleprompter, but we saw what happened to Joe Biden when the teleprompter was taken away.

Secondly, I would like to know why, if her values have not changed as she claims, her policies have changed. She must have a reason other than trying to pull the wool over the eyes of voters by her feint to the center. I know why I support fracking. She needs to be able to tell me why she also supports fracking.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I want to see how she interacts with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump is a difficult man and a bully. If Ms. Harris becomes president she will have to deal with bullies just as difficult, and maybe even more difficult, than Mr. Trump. Like Mr. Putin or Mr. Xi. Joe Biden had to quit the campaign because, after his interaction with Mr. Trump, people realized he did not have the capacity to deal with these strong autocratic leaders. Ms. Harris needs to put those fears to rest.

So, that’s it. I will let you know how I think she did after the so-called presidential debate.