1 day Ago
Author's note: I wrote this column last weekend, shortly before the news of yet another assassination attempt on Donald Trump. My central message in the column is that the American political process is perilously dysfunctional. Then, on Sunday, we saw once again just how perilous it is.
The unmistakable reality is that the violence that the left keeps telling us is intolerable is seeded by their own over-the-top rhetoric — such as the nonsensical notion that the reelection of the former president would somehow destroy democracy. It must stop. As I think about it, last week's debate was a 90-minute capsule version of the entire 2024 presidential race.
It was like a one-act play with only four players. On stage were Donald Trump, former president and Republican presidential candidate; Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat candidate; and the ABC tag team of David Muir and Linsey Davis, representing the mainstream media. It was great theater — all four delivered Tony Award-quality performances — but at the same time, it was frighteningly real and very depressing.
What tens of millions of viewers saw: The Republican and Democrat nominees detest one another and will do or say virtually anything to win the election. Meanwhile, the supposedly neutral media is openly hostile to one side and slavishly supportive of the other. Debates are important.
We don't select presidents because they are skilled debaters. But we do expect our president to be able to stand up to withering pressure, to think on his (or her) feet, and the debate venue offers glimpses of the candidates' capability in that respect, unfiltered by campaign packaging. So, let's be debate critics and take stock.
First, Kamala Harris. Yes, her fans were thrilled — they're calling her performance a masterclass in debating (funny how low expectations can do that). But if so, her masterclass consisted primarily of deftly dodging questions.
Instead, Harris used the bulk of her airtime to convince...
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