CHARLES LIPSON: The Debate was a Mud-Wrestling Match—and Biden Won The Democratic Candidate’s Team Will Be Delighted
https://spectator.us/debate-mud-wrestling-match-biden-won/
EXCERPT:
Some of Biden’s comments could come back to bite him. He strenuously denied his son Hunter had received millions from the former mayor of Moscow. Disproved already, he said. He denied any corruption in Hunter’s dealings in Ukraine and China. Putrid as those financial deals were, Trump missed an opportunity by turning them into personal attacks. The telling point is that these deals epitomize the Swamp, where insiders like Biden enrich themselves and their family thanks to their positions and connections. Those points might come up in the campaign’s final month, but they were lost in the mudslinging. So was Biden’s constant flip-flopping on fracking and his preposterous promise that transforming America into a green paradise will pay for itself and create thousands of jobs. These issues should be huge liabilities for Biden, and Trump could have used the debate to nail his opponent on them. He didn’t.
Biden’s biggest contradiction went unnoticed. He lambasted Trump both for not locking down the country early enough or long enough and for the “depression” caused by those very lockdowns. It is perfect legitimate to criticize the president’s response to COVID. But it is sheer demagoguery to say earlier, longer, tougher lockdowns were essential and then pretend the president is Herbert Hoover for ordering the lockdowns he did.
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