The Presidential Candidates Debate Last Night

I promised I would report my impressions of the debate last night, but I flunked as a journalist and analyst, quitting about two-thirds of the way through. My trouble is that I can’t watch Trump for a sustained length of time without feeling physically ill. I know that he is not as bad as Hitler, or Stalin, or any one of a tremendous number of villains in history, or numerous homicidal maniacs or sadistic perverts scattered throughout the world, but he is the most repulsive human being I’ve witnessed among the thousands I’ve observed in person or on television over the course of dozens upon dozens of years.

Chris Wallace, the moderator, is reputed to be a tough questioner, but he failed to institute and enforce strict rules, which were very much needed. He should have mandated that there would be zero interruptions during each candidate’s allotted time to speak. Did Wallace expect Trump to be civil? It’s an absurd concept. Trump should be penalized for infractions. Next time cut off his mic until he behaves.

The producers should only have shown the person who was speaking. It was a bad idea to have a split screen, subjecting viewers to the distracting sight of Trump sneering and silently snarling between his outbursts. Why allow him to be on camera when he is violating the debate rules?

I doubt if many prospective voters made up their minds as a result of watching this debate. Biden is not an impressive candidate, but he is a capable, honorable, and good-hearted man, who is committed to serving the public interest rather than his own,  Trump has none of these qualities. He is a sociopath and a menace to our country and to all humanity. That was true before the debate, true after the debate, and it will be true on election day.