We recommend watching presidential debate

It is rare that we make recommendations for what towatch on television.

But it is rare that an event has the chance to shape our future as a Republic theway tonight’s presidential debate does.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will answer questions from two journalists in a 90minute event set to start at 9 p.m. It will be held at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

You can see it pretty much anywhere, including a live stream on ourwebsite.

The Republican president’s re-election campaign has been behind for months, unable to overcome persistent criticism from many quarters about his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, his incendiary rhetoric. This, more so than the second and third debates next month, is the president’s last best chance to change the trajectory of this campaign.

Whether you like the president or not, this is not where any incumbent wants to be less than 40 days from Election Day.

We use that time element with caution. Voting through mail-ballots, absentee ballots and early voting has begun in many places around the country. Maryland sent out its absentee ballots lastweek, and drop boxes will begin working this week. Early voting itself doesn’t begin until Oct. 26, ending in Election Day on Nov. 3.

The Democratic former vice president, meanwhile, is ahead not only nationally, but in some key states. The louder and angrier the president gets, the more Biden appears as a steady, quiet alternative.

And as if the angst over the future of the country couldn’t get any worse, there is a U.S. Supreme Court nomination that could shift the balance of the court and an explosive New York Times story delving into years of the president’s tax returns. It shows that he appears to be in a precarious financial position, and paid little or no income taxes in recent years.

The debate will be moderated by Fox News journalist Chris Wallace, an Annapolis resident. He will divide the debate into six sections, with each candidate getting to answer a question and respond. Follow-up questions are part of the format. It’s not clear if the candidates will shake hands.

So why watch this debate? Both Trump and Biden are known quantities.

Trump is unlikely to get any more statesmanlike. Biden will not suddenly be less a symbol of the nation’s established political class.

But they do represent two distinct visions of the American future, and that should be on display tonight.

For 90 minutes, the president will talk about his own administration’s record on the virus, the economy, on his response to racism and civil unrest, the Supreme Court and his handling of international relations. It would be surprising if the New York Times story isn’t a subject. Trump is likely to attack Biden using the same strategies he has demonstrated consistently, insults, exaggerations and lies.

For those same 90 minutes, Biden lay out the case for his presidency, not just opposition to a second Trump term. He will talk about the president’s record but also defend himself from the president’s already stated attacks about his age, his record and his son, Hunter Biden. A gaffe-prone speaker, he will have to avoid any missteps that feed the president’s attacks.

They are two remarkably different candidates.

As you watch this tonight, ask yourself not whowon.

Ask yourself, who do you believe?