My excitement over debates has waned over the years. There is never a serious discussion of the issues. Candidates are typically searching for the sound bite they can run in ads that make them appear the winner. Moderators usually have little control over the participants; they never answer the questions, run over their time, and lie about their records and intentions.
Media sources are so partisan that the evaluation of the debate could easily be written beforehand, as at least one candidate is already doing in his rallies and through his surrogates. Donald Trump will tell anyone who will listen that the debate is rigged, the moderators are biased against him, and without any evidence, he suggests the network hosting the debate has issued the questions in advance to Kamala Harris. We know what to expect from Donald Trump. He'll have no details about policy. Everything he claims to have done will have been the best ever. He'll alternately call the moderators and Kamala Harris "nasty" and occasionally mispronounce her name. He'll project all his traits onto Harris and the Democrats, calling them criminals and traitors.
Kamala will have more to say about policy but the full details will be left for another day. She'll continually turn the topic to abortion, reminding us that Trump claimed responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade. She'll bring up January 6, 2021, and Trump's failure to submit to a peaceful transition. His felony convictions on 34 counts in New York are sure to come up, along with being found liable for sexual assault. The only name Harris is likely to use is "felon." We'll be reminded of her background as a prosecutor, with the implication being that Trump is a criminal.
The media will also play its role. Fox News will have its own version of the spin room, declaring Trump the winner, with panelists having prepared their comments before the debate. The same could be said of MSNBC, though they will declare Harris the winner based on the actual debate.
More than once, Trump will prove himself unable to hold a thought and begin rambling. The same behavior that chased Joe Biden out of the race will be ignored when Trump does it. Harris is likelier to have that gotcha moment she specialized in when she sat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Ask Brett Kavanaugh, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, and Amy Coney Barrett what facing her was like. Harris will be better prepared, stay more on topic, answer more of the actual questions, and demonstrate a better knowledge of the issues. None of that will matter much, as Trump supporters stopped caring about efficiency long ago. The debates will be targeted toward the narrow slice of undecided voters. How anyone can still be undecided is beyond me.
I'll watch the debate. After the Biden fiasco, I didn't lie to myself and immediately suggested that Biden get out of the way. If Harris performs poorly, I will say so. Kamala Harris needs to perform at 80% of her potential to do well. At 100% of his capabilities, Trump is still pitiful; I'll say that, too.
These are strange times with Liz and Dick Cheney endorsing Harris and Robert Kennedy, Jr favoring Trump. It would be nice if the debate could clear things up a little. It isn't likely, though. We will see!