"Interesting: Biden Can Do Something at the Debates That Trump Never Could by Patti Davis [View all]

[elleng]

Ms. Davis is the author of “Dear Mom and Dad: A Letter About Family, Memory and the America We Once Knew.”

'In 1960, I sat on the living room floor in front of a black-and-white television and watched one of the presidential debates between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. It wasn’t my preferred programming, but my parents were watching it and communicated to me that this was sort of a homework assignment, as in, “this is how democracy works.” . .

Twenty years later, in 1980, I watched my father, Ronald Reagan, debate Jimmy Carter. There was the moment when then President Carter decisively (but politely) criticized my father for his opposition to Medicare. My father smiled, cocked his head and said, “There you go again.” . . .

Many of us still recall when people in the political arena were expected to meet a base-line level of dignity, when candidates presented themselves as adults who understood the value of civility — because, they thought and we all generally believed, that’s what voters wanted and expected. But sadly, there are more and more Americans who regard maturity, sportsmanship and most of all civility in politics as elitist, phony hallmarks of an establishment that doesn’t talk or act like regular people. As a result, some politicians think of campaigning as another version of an M.M.A. fight. . .

It’s true that not everything in the past was clean and respectful. Politics has always involved some insults and name-calling. But there was a huge change in 2016. Donald Trump pulled the cork out of the bottle, made cruelty mainstream and was rewarded for it. . .

So who are we as a country? Do we revere democratic principles and know that in order to uphold those principles, civil discourse is vital? Or have we become so enamored of down-and-dirty fighting that we can’t seem to get out of the mud pit?

President Biden has an opportunity to reclaim what was once a prominent characteristic of American politics in his upcoming debates with Donald Trump, but he isn’t off to a great start. His invitation to debate included the sarcastic taunt “Well, make my day, pal.” Hearing a president imitate Clint Eastwood rubbed me the wrong way. Later I realized my father had used that line, too. It wasn’t his finest moment, either.

So how about standing on a ledge above the mud pit? Mr. Biden is effusive in his optimism about America and all this country is and can be. He has a chance to set an example for the nation. Obviously, Mr. Trump is not going to be civil on the debate stage. He doesn’t know how. . .

Because civility in this country is plummeting, on the streets, in businesses, on social media and pretty much everywhere else. Wouldn’t it be helpful if the person holding the highest office in the land gave us a concrete example of what it means to comport ourselves with dignity and restraint?'

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/18/opinion/biden-trump-debate.html

Of COURSE there is NO DOUBT that President Biden will comport himself with dignity and restraint. tmp has no idea how to do so. To what extent will it matter???