Live(ish) Blogging The Presidential Debate 9/29/2020

No promises.

9:04 PM: No gaffes yet. Of course, only Chris Wallace is speaking.

9:06 PM: Biden found the podium without aid. The verdict is in: Expectations exceeded.

9:08 PM: Trump got extra orangey for the occasion. It's the little things.

9:10 PM: Biden is hitting on all points. Unfortunately, he's hitting on them all at once.

9:13 PM: Chris Wallace might need some pepper spray.

9:14 PM: And a baton. Maybe a shield.

9:19 PM: I need more whiskey.

9:20 PM: Chris Wallace probably needs whiskey, too.

9:21 PM: That might not be a bad idea. Everyone gets whiskey!

9:22 PM: Did someone tell Trump, "be yourself" just before the debate? I thought I heard that. Bad advice.

9:26 PM: Biden accuses Trump of not doing enough about Covid, and also accuses him of shutting down the economy.  Interesting.

9:31 PM: Trump basically just called Biden stupid.  Jefferson would be proud.

9:34 PM: Now he's making fun of the masks Biden wears. Add that to great moments in oratory.

9:36 PM: Trump making a decent point. One I would make in pretty much the same way regarding masks.  Maybe it's the whiskey affecting my judgment.

9:38 PM: Trump making sense again about the economy.  I need to stop drinking.

9:40 PM: I need whatever shots they gave Biden. He sounds fairly lucid.

9:44 PM: Okay, Trump is starting to sound, well, like Trump.  Good, it means I'm not drunk. It means I'm not totally drunk.

9:46 PM: Biden: "Buy American." What?!

9:47 PM: Biden: Talking up manufacturing jobs. What?! Aren't these Trump talking points?

9:50 PM: Chris Wallace is getting ready to lob a flash bang at Trump, I swear.

9:53 PM: Here comes the flash bang.

9:55 PM: Biden has been debating a long time. I remember when he wiped the floor with Ryan in 2012. This is a pretty good, albeit older, version of that.

9:56 PM: And then he repeats the proven "very fine people" lie.  Lots of reasons to criticize Trump. That's not one of them.

10:00 PM: Chris Wallace asked why Trump ended "racial sensitivity training," suggesting that he does not know anything about Critical Race Theory. Unfortunately it's not clear that Trump does either.

10:06 PM: You know the accusation of Trump being a bully? He's not really doing much to dispel that tonight.

10:08 PM: Trump is very good at not letting Biden shoot himself in the foot.

10:10 PM: Wallace just threw a softball to Trump to denounce white supremacists and he screws it up. He really is his own worst enemy.

10:13 PM: Longest seven hours of my life. It's been seven hours, right?

10:16 PM: Oh, good, more yelling.

10:19 PM: Planet Moron's views on so-called "climate change" are well known. I can't think of a better person to make our case than someone who is not Donald Trump.

10:27 PM: Interesting, Biden just said the Green New Deal would pay for itself, and then says he doesn't support it. A great opening. Trump totally walks over it with nonsense about Biden "losing the left."

10:39 PM: Well, that's seven hours of my life I'll never get back. It's been seven hours, right?

J.