Daily Southtown

Presidenti­al debate was a contest of blown opportunit­ies

- Clarence Page Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotri­bune.com/ pagespage. cpage@chicagotri­bune.com Twitter @cptime

My wifewas the first to go. She stood up and made a beeline for bed after about 10 minutes.

Next to gowas our millennial son. He lasted about 20 minutes before fleeing to the friendly confines of social media.

That left me, as usual, loyal tomy sacred duty as a journo who, to paraphrase an old movie critic’s ad, suffers through the bad debates so that you, dear voters, don’t have to.

Whowon the first and longawaite­d presidenti­al debate between President Donald Trump and formerVice President Joe Biden?

Usually I hate to be asked that question after a political campaign debate. Too many people have too many different ideas about what constitute­s a “win.”

Neverthele­ss, my verdict as to whowon this debate, which quickly degraded into a raucous debacle that mademy family flee, seemed quite clear: The people did not.

But itwas a happy night for the Proud Boys.

Yes, as theworld nowknows, that far-right ragtag group, labeled by the Southern Poverty LawCenter and Anti-Defamation League as a hate group that endorses violence, came up whenTrump and Biden were asked if theywere willing to condemn white supremacis­ts and paramilita­ry groups.

“Giveme a name. Giveme a name,” Trump said. Biden mentioned the Proud Boys. Instead of a straightfo­rward repudiatio­n, Trump curiously barked toward the cameras, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

Then he quickly added, “But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem

Biden condemned violence and hate groups on the right and left. ButTrump’swaffling about the Proud Boys sparked more headlines and social media chatter, along with a huge surge in Google searches. Beforemidn­ight, a new pseudo-military Proud Boys logo appeared online featuring “Stand Back, Stand By” like a newwarrior­s’ slogan.

Yet Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said itwas “very clear hewants them to knock it off.” To him, maybe. Most people, including me, seemed to hear quite the opposite coming fromthe president’s mouth.

That includes the Boys themselves who, judging by theirweb traffic, felt quite a bit prouder to be name-checked by the prez himself.

ByWednesda­y, Trump tried towalk it back, saying the Proud Boys should “stand down” and “let lawenforce­ment do theirwork.”

All in a night’swork for a president who spent the evening in full Captain Chaos mode. He constantly interrupte­d Biden, ignored time limits, digressed away fromthe point of questions and talked over attempts by moderator ChrisWalla­ce of FoxNews to impose order.

In short, itwas an evening of blownoppor­tunities.

Afterweeks of remarkable stability in the polls showing Biden clearly ahead nationally, although by tighter margins in the battlegrou­nd states, itwas one of the last big opportunit­ies beforeNove­mber for both candidates to make their closing arguments.

For Biden, thiswas an opportunit­y to shore up his lead, which remains soft enough among the relatively few remaining persuadabl­e voters to make his stronger supporters nervous.

He needed to showthat, contrary to the Grand Old Party’smythology, the former vice president is not too old to handle a 90-minute debate without collapsing into a babbling buffoon.

Instead, his confidence began to visibly firm up after he began to break the usual norms of civility by telling his yammering opponent to simply “Shut up!”

Trump should have listened. He needed this night more than Biden did. Hewasn’t speaking to an arena full of his loyal Trumpists. Instead, thiswas his chance to broaden his appeal to the persuadabl­es who haven’t yet made up their minds. He offered little to reassure them — and a lot with which to insult their intelligen­ce.

Instead he sounded like a junior high school kid who hadn’t done his homework but still thinks he can BS hisway through an oral exam. He even lapsed, as he has before, into blaming Biden for problems of crime, violence and the COVID-19 pandemic as if somebody besides Trump has been president for the past nearly four years.

In the end, the biggest question of the evening seemed not to be about the pandemic or antifa but whether there’s any hope for the remaining two scheduled presidenti­al debates. I have considered numerous suggestion­s for improvemen­t, including a large gavel for the moderator, a referee’s whistle and isolation booths to silence the long-winded.

However they may be conducted, I believe debates do us more good than harm. When candidates abuse the privilege, that’s on them.

As noted historian Jon Meacham observed in a postdebate panel, “It’s not just the candidates on the ballot, we are.” Indeed, we are. Our ElectionDa­y choices are a reflection of all of us. We need to be informed, not driven to the exits.

 ?? ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE ?? People watch the first debate Tuesday between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden at Ethiopian Diamond restaurant in Chicago.
ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ/CHICAGO TRIBUNE People watch the first debate Tuesday between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden at Ethiopian Diamond restaurant in Chicago.
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