How to Win The Debates: Memo to Biden and Harris

The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates are coming, so here is what to look for. It is impossible to imagine that anyone will be watching who is not already familiar with the candidates’ positions and records. What the debates show us is something different. How do they respond in real time under pressure, without staff or briefing books? We watch the debates to evaluate their temperament and to get a sense of how effective they can be in negotiating with Congress and with international leaders, friendly and less friendly.

If I were advising Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, I would tell them to say this:

I’m going to spend my time here making sure the American people understand how I see the problems facing this country and what my plans are to address them. I will not have time to fact-check every statement made by my opponent. I’m leaving that to my staff, who will be posting fact-checks in real time, with documentation showing our sources. They will also be fact-checking me. Any mistake I make will be corrected, again showing exactly where we get our information.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan used to say that we are all entitled to our own opinion but we are not entitled to our own facts. The one core foundational premise most of society has agreed on…