Debate or argument in Cleveland

NO KNOCKOUT MOMENTS IN THIS DEBATE

BIDEN PERFORMS BETTER THAN EXPECTATIONS

I assume much of the country watched last nights 1st Presidential debate. In the next few days we will see a rehashing and spin from both sides as to who gained an advantage from this affair. While there really wasn't any obvious defining moment, there seemed to be a lot of attempts to make the other debater self-destruct in some way. I would say no one self-destructed and any advantages are likely subtle marginal gains.

It seemed Trump believed if he harassed and interrupted Biden he would cause Biden to loose his train of thought and lapse into one of his anticipated senior moments. It did not work, Biden was able to carry on without being thrown off by Trumps interruptions. Biden seemed to believe he could provoke Trump into some unhinged behavior by intentionally throwing inappropriate insults,  using words like clown, shut up, and others. It may have played well with the real Trump haters, but didn't seem to throw Trump off.

Biden continued to not take a solid position on anything other than to criticize Trumps economy, Coronavirus, race relations and and other aspects of his presidency. He refused to be specific about everything, even when repeatedly asked by the moderator. 

Trump of course, defended his record and pointed out Biden's lack-luster career in government. Things that have been tossed back and forth for months by both sides.

Trump was successful in getting Biden to proclaim , "I am the Democrat Party" and dismiss Bernie Sanders, by saying that he beat him. He also disavowed the "New Green Deal", He was intentionally attempting to sow doubt in the minds of the radical parts of the party. 

Biden also refused to criticize Antifa, even denying that this group is an organized entity, but just a idea. He attempted to blame the rioting and violence in the cities on white supremacists. 

There were also other subtle marginal points made by both sides, but one could say that it was more of a feeling out of the vulnerabilities of each other for the next debate. 

Democrats are already proclaiming that Biden should refuse any more debates because of Trump's behavior. We will see if that is going to happen. 

Chris Wallace did not interfere more than necessary to attempt to keep order. It was not a easy job.

It would be great to have a comparative debate on the issues. But is unlikely to happen. Biden has from the beginning placed his hopes on anti-Trump sentiment rather than specific plans. He has intentionally been very vague and repeatably denied earlier positions on fracking, national healthcare, taxes, trade and the New Green deal. It is a stealth campaign, attempting to alienate no one.

Trump won in 2016 by being specific on his plans. Bernie Sander's who is the ideological leader of the Democrat party did the same. It would have been nice to have had a debate about the real plans of both parties for the next four years. It is obvious Biden does not believe in any positions other than to regain power for the Washington establishment made up of members of  both parties.