BIDEN SOUNDED LIKE A BROKEN RECORD, TRUMP EXUDED STRENGTH

Pundits saw a horror show, but voters got what they wanted

 

By Erez Linn 

 

Israel Hayom

September 30, 2020 

The first presidential debate on Tuesday got the headline "Pure Choas" on CNN.

A month before America goes to the polls, viewers got a show that they normally don't get on prime time television, with the two contenders throwing mud at each other and calling one another "clown" and "liar" on the debate stage in Cleveland.

But unlike the pundits in the studios, those who tuned in from home got what they had been clamoring for after months of having to listen to boring speeches and rallies, contested Supreme Court seats and alleged tax improprieties. Finally, they got to hear the candidates battle it out as if this was a large family meal where everyone goes at each other.

Biden had a bad night, with his lackluster performance underscoring his inability to put forth his own agenda. Rather than being proactive, he was reactive. He sounded like a broken record, attacking Trump for his mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis. Biden's biggest mistake was his decision not to talk from his heart, except on one occasion, when he spoke emotionally, staring directly to the camera and sharing with the American people his son's ordeal with drugs. This endeared him with millions of Americans, but only for a brief moment. During the rest of the debate he was mostly on the defensive, trying to refute Trump's accusations rather than making a positive case for himself.

Even when Trump practically handed him the floor and asked him to reveal whom he would appoint to the Supreme Court if he were president, Biden refused to answer. It's doubtful there is even one voter who came out of this debate with a clear sense of why Biden is running for president; even veteran pundits are scratching their heads in their attempt to finally pin down what's motivating Biden and what vision he wants to articulate. Biden has not shown he has the fire in his belly to run for president, unlike his rival, who is running as if he is the underdog. Biden can at least take comfort from the fact that he stood toe to toe with the most powerful man on earth and did not fall into the trap Trump had laid by casting him as senile and unfit to serve.

The bottom line is that Trump won the debate, if only because Biden let him have the floor all to himself most of the time. In fact, Trump did away with the rules right at the outset, even telling moderator Chris Wallace that he was in fact debating him.

Trump's overarching goal was to exude strength and to put the coronavirus crisis on the back burner. In that metric, he can claim victory. Biden, on the other hand, showed weakness throughout the entire evening, especially when asked how he would react if, on Election Night, the outcome would not be immediately clear. Rather than say that he would declare victory as soon as he viably can in order to show how tough he is, he spoke at length about how everyone has to wait for all the votes to be counted.

Biden had many opportunities throughout the debate to articulate his vision for America, to talk about his late son Beau who succumbed to cancer, and to relate with voters with a story that would win the sympathy, and votes, of the American people. But instead, he chose to wage the same old attack on Trump, with his monotonic voice, warning America that the president was dangerous. As if Americans aren't mature enough to make up their own minds.

But despite pundits insisting this was a horror show, the voters got what they wanted. They wanted a real fight, and they got one, unlike four years ago, when Hillary Clinton tried to take the high road, all but ensuring she would come off as detached and cold, contributing to her ultimate defeat. Biden at least engaged Trump on the same level, and tried to punch back with matching, albeit unbecoming, rhetoric. But Biden failed to take a step further and instead of showing energy and video, he stuck to the regular tit-for-tat.

The shock registered in television studios over the unpresidential debate was hardly shared by the average voters in the rustbelt towns in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In fact, they actually liked the authenticity on display. It's probably safe to say that Trump's resolve was more appealing to them than Biden's boring soliloquies, but at least the former vice president managed to stay on both feet. If he wants to gain momentum, he would have to put on his A-game in the next two debates. On the other hand, all through the campaign, he has preferred to run a passive campaign and to stay ahead in the polls just by being the anti-Trump. This strategy, which gives the stage to Trump, did not deliver Clinton a victory in 2016.

It would be a stretch to say that either candidate managed to make voters switch over to their side. This year, the electorate has pretty much made up its minds, at least that's what the polls show. But the two candidates can still use the debate by squeezing some political points. Trump has to drive home that Biden spoke for 90 minutes without offering anything new, to cast him as a puppet that has no clear direction. Biden has to declare victory, and hammer home the fact that he managed to stand for 90 minutes against Trump and fight back, and then he has to criss-cross America and finally lay forth a vision. Trump managed to show that he is the toughest guy in the neighborhood who has no mercy on anyone, whom America's enemies will not want to irritate. In the suburbs of Philadelphia, in Iowa's farms and the factories in Michigan, voters will appreciate people like that.

Anyone who thinks Trump hurt himself in this debate electorally should think again. In 2016 people were convinced that his dark rhetoric and rudeness would turn voters off, but it only boosted their interest in the unorthodox candidate and his unfiltered  approach.