Miss Manners may have been offended, but Trump had the edge

Is there any way to change these presidential debates to a written test? Predictably, the punditry spent most of their time hand-wringing over the lack of decorum. Makes you wonder if they have ever seen Trump before. If the talking heads could move beyond their offended sensibilities, they would see that there were some substantive exchanges.

Republicans think Trump did great, and Democrats think Biden did great — or, more accurately that Trump was awful. But, in this cacophony of a debate the only certain loser was China. Both candidates agree that China is a menace.

On balance, Trump had a better debate. Miss Manners might not approve, but Trump’s interrupting and forcefulness drove the agenda.

Biden did OK but had some poor moments. He fumbled a bit on some of his language. His practiced lines did not work as well as his campaign expected. The best example was his statement about Beau Biden’s service in Iraq. In most debates that would have been a powerful applause line. But Trump jumped in right away on Hunter Biden.

Biden provided the Trump campaign with several future openings. He clearly dodged the Supreme Court packing issue. Biden ducked the question as to why he has not challenged the governor of Oregon to tamp down on the riots in Portland. Biden promised $20 billion to Brazil for the Amazon rain forest — perhaps a noble cause, but hardly a mover for Americans, many of whom are out of work.

Biden also created some potential problems on the left by emphatically denying support for the Green New Deal. But he also hurt himself by also saying that the Green New Deal will pay for itself. As a result, he hurt himself with his base yet gave Trump a future talking point.

Trump’s biggest gaffe and future potential problem was his refusal to clearly state that he would accept the outcome of the election. Not for the first time, Trump’s unwillingness to accept losing even in concept will be used against him — and likely to strong effect.

The attacks on Trump were strong, but nothing that people have not heard before. There was nothing new.

The tax issue could be a significant problem. Trump provided a defense that attenuated the issue a bit with his defense that he was taking advantage of the tax system Biden voted for. The issue is still a net negative.

The fundamental problem for Trump is that he is not making a positive case for his next four years. At least in part he still owns all the problems in the country. His attack mode puts Biden on the defensive, but Trump still needs to pick up votes.

In the end, the two candidates are speaking to maybe 10 percent of the electorate.

According to the most recent YouGov survey, 93 percent of voters have “definitely” made up their mind. The RealClearPolitics average shows an undecided vote of 7.3 percent. Some of those “definites” might switch, but that’s a hard task.

In the end, Biden probably did not pick up anything. Trump laid the groundwork for future attacks, but also likely is still in the same place.

The next debate could be won by Trump — if he can take advantage of the few Biden mistakes.

Keith Naughton, Ph.D., co-founder of Silent Majority Strategies, is a public affairs consultant who specialized in Pennsylvania judicial elections. Follow him on Twitter @KNaughton711.