Expected: Trump > Biden
Biden exceeded my expectations. Trump embarrassed himself. I went into this debate expecting to be entertained. I went in expecting Trump to dominate Biden. One the one hand, Joe Biden has had his fair share of gaffes. One and half hours of unadulterated Biden was sure to create a few OMG moments… but they never arrived. Trump played the bully card to level 11… and I actually felt bad for him by the end.
Full disclosure, I went into this debate wanting to vote for “not Trump”. That said, I also believed as a betting man that Trump is heading towards re-election. In 2016, I believed Hilary was playing not-to-lose. It’s a lot like an NFL team playing ‘Prevent Defense’… they’re just asking for it. And Hilary took a surprise L because she played on the back foot. Her loss came when she took her foot of the gas and tried to manage the brake pedal alone. That opened the door for Trump to outmaneuver her. And he did.
The discomfort I had with Biden coming into these debates… a lot of footage surely makes him look like he has cognitive decline: that was put to bed tonight. More importantly, there are many Trump supporters who are die hard believers. I don’t know anyone that is a die hard Biden supporter. Everyone I know that wants Biden wants him because he’s “Not Trump”. And that can’t be the type of conviction that lets you sleep easy at night. Chances are you aren’t winning the Superbowl because you’re “not the other team”. Winners gon win and you expect the Patriots to win because they’re the fucking Patriots.
Outcome: Biden > Trump
Tonight Biden mopped the floor with Trump. Biden looked like a veteran outmaneuvering a flailing amateur. And I don’t even rate Biden, even now. All he showed is that he’s not in cognitive decline and that he can string together arguments. If I am to be critical, there’s nothing confidence inspiring about Biden’s tone nor posture. The good news is he’s a relatively calm person constructing sentences that sound uniting.
Politics is like a mirror. It often reveals one’s own biases, so I’m open to the chance my analysis is biased. That said, I’m curious how the world saw it. Seeing what I saw tonight, it was a huge confidence bump in Biden and a confidence hit for Trump. In summary, I’ve never been so anxious to see who wins this 2020 Presidential election. The outcome unexpectedly tells us very little about who Biden and Trump are as candidates. What it tells us is who we are as Americans. And that will give me great hope or night terrors.
2020 is without doubt the most unpredictable, shock and awe year of all living beings. Our universe surely has a cruel sense of humor. Rub your eyes because nobody is seeing 20/20.
