Sure, it might sound like hyperbole, but I can’t think of a more devastating presidential debate performance than the one Joe Biden had in his first meeting with Donald Trump. Indeed, even with abnormally low expectations, Biden tripped over them as if they were sandbags. After watching post-debate reaction, it’s safe to say no modern presidential debate has ever rattled a political party quite like this one.

The scratchy and frail voice. The speedy mumbling — it was like watching a TV at 2x speed. The overall incoherence. The confused and angry stares. The jumbling of thoughts —“I was recently in, in, in, um, France for D-Day, and I spoke to — all about those heroes that died …” and so on — was relentless. It was difficult to watch.