Disappointing

(Opinion) Sadly, how disappointing was this debate? Let us count the ways. Donald Trump, to no one's surprise, must have taken the dopey Harris bait at least a half dozen times. No matter how shiny and obvious, he couldn't resist reacting defensively, which of course gains him zero indy votes. Although it was Trump's strongest moment at the debate conclusion, he failed to hammer home early and often his best and most relevant point - Biden-Harris has had three years, that doesn't spell change.

Harris won the debate on style, very composed and prepared for nearly every question. But, her canned responses were still an inch deep, short in detail, and mostly just platitudes. If her main mission was to win over new support, especially among independent voters in the swing states, Harris failed to provide any substance whatsoever regarding her multiple and dubious policy reversals, which all goes to trust.

Unfortunately, but expected, the two moderators became part of the story. Real-time fact checks, interruptions, and followups, all were very Harris one-sided. It was crassly, methodically three vs. one. Trump had five fact checks or corrections, several interruptions, and several followups. Harris was never interrupted, corrected, or fact checked even once. Nor was she ever asked a followup question. This is simply absurd.

Factoring in style and substance, or lack of both, the two candidates performed far beneath the bar for folks seeking to clarify how the policy platforms will affect them. So, the winner of this debate was certainly not the inquiring voter.