As Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz walked into the CBS studio for their one and only debate, Americans knew one thing for certain:

The world is on fire. Democrats lit the match. And sound American leadership is required if the United States is to survive.

Americans tuned into that debate to determine which political party could show it was ready to lead in crisis, and to measure for themselves the judgement of presidential candidates Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Former President Donald Trump. As the two men walked into the studio, Iran had just fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, with most of them stopped by the Iron Dome.

Days and days after Hurricane Helene savaged victims in North Carolina who were still without power and drinkable water, the people there were still waiting for the unprepared Biden-Harris administration to reach them with aid.