First Debate

I seriously doubt that anyone changed their mind based on this debate. After all, there were no shockers. Both candidates said the things that they have been saying all along. Trump interrupted, was rude and insulting and Biden initially tried to treat this as a normal debate...which it wasn't. So, what can we conclude from this?

Let's start with what we saw of Biden. 

Biden supporters (including me) were hoping that the former Vice President would avoid what are popularly called "gaffes" - what some of us just call "fuck-ups". The other issue was the concern that Biden would come across as confused or lost. Neither of these things happened. There were really only two moments when Biden lost control. One was his attempt to paint Trump as disrespectful to military men and women, bringing up his late son Beau, who served honorably in Iraq. He seemed completely flustered when Trump interrupted and turned it into an attack on Hunter Biden, reduced to repeating that what Trump was saying was untrue. He did rally, asserting that it wasn't about his family or Trump's family, but our families. The other moment was during a "Law & Order" discussion when Biden suggested that he had some support from law enforcement. Trump pounced, asking for Biden to name one law enforcement group that endorsed him. He was stumped and moved on. 

What did Biden do right? He was articulate and confident. There was no hint of mental decline or lack of acuity. He clearly laid out his priorities. For the most part he did not allow Trump to rattle him or shut him up when Trump interrupted him. He was not shy about labeling Trump a liar, repeatedly making the point that Trump couldn't be trusted. If this was any other president, it might be argued that Biden was out of line calling Trump a clown and a con and telling him to "shut up, man", but  conventional responses aren't appropriate against an unconventional opponent. 

How about Trump?

Nothing new from Debacle Donnie. He spewed his usual bullshit conspiracy theories, he repeatedly interrupted both Biden and the moderator. He dodged questions. Same old same old. When challenged on the shortcomings of his own record, his responses were variations on "You would have done much worse". He's still trying to run as an outsider, even though (obviously) he's running the government! When confronted with facts such as job creation being higher during Obama's last three years than Trump's first three, before the Covid-19 health crisis, he acted as if he hadn't heard the questions and simply repeated his talking point that he presided over the greatest economy and job creation the country had ever seen. 

Some big revelations that weren't really revelations: Trump, when given the opportunity, refused to speak against right-wing violence; he claimed that he paid "millions" in taxes in 2016 and 2017; and once again undermined the integrity of the upcoming election and all but came out and said he would only accept election results if he won. His rationale included not only unfounded allegations of election fraud, but the ridiculous claim that the Democrats didn't accept the results of the 2016 election

I can't really say that Biden "won" the debate in that he was unable to shut Trump up, but he was definitely the sane alternative.