I don’t know about you, but I have already voted. So far, 50 million Americans have cast their ballots through mail-in/absentee/dropoff and in-person early voting. Across several polls, at most 4% of likely voters are undecided (and we know that a third to a half of all undecided voters are actually decided or will vote their party anyway). In other words, this thing is done. The debate tonight is nothing but spectacle.
Spectacle can be important. (Don’t worry, we aren’t going too far down a Marxist/Situationist hole here.) It can draw attention and reinforce norms. But it can also be destructive.
Donald Trump is an abuser. There is no reason to allow him to continue to cause harm. He will say and do anything to get reelected.
I observed last time that there are no technological solutions to his behavior. There is no reason to expect that to be different tonight. It is bad enough that he will subject Joe Biden to this onslaught. The public should not watch it. No votes will be changed, and we will all be worse off for the experience.
