Fatigue and exhaustion are the themes of the day. That fakata debate was an assault on our senses. I feel bruised but unbroken.

Today’s quote once again comes from Josh Marshall:

Beyond all the individual offenses one of the underrated sub-themes of anti-Trumpism is exhaustion. One of the deepest traumas of living in the home of an abuser stems not from the outbursts of physical violence, verbal abuse or manipulation but the accumulated stress of ambient tension, uncertainty, the reflexive, unshakeable hyper-vigilance. It is exhausting in a profound way. Trump is exhausting – I suspect even for some who share his dark values. This was 90 minutes jam-packed with everything that makes Trump exhausting. Living with an abuser means being trapped in close quarters with the abuse, being unable to run. In a month voters get the chance to walk away.

That is in a nutshell why I think the Kaiser of Chaos will lose and lose badly. If it’s by a landslide, his threats of post-election chaos will be revealed as emptier than his mind. People are tired of his act. Everyone would like to have some time without thinking about politics or who is president; even political junkies like me.

Quite understandably, there are calls to cancel the remaining debates. It’s unlikely to happen. If Biden refused to debate again, it would constitute giving into the biggest bully of all. I’m old school on the subject of bullies. They need to be stood up to. If you give them a millimeter, they’ll take a kilometer.

I completely understand if people do not want to sit through another shit show like last night. I’ll watch for you and provide an impressionistic  instant analysis of what happened. The Harris-Pence debate is apt to be less crazy. Pence is a smooth liar, not a histrionic one like his boss.

Last night was a debacle for Trump. Don’t let anyone tell your otherwise.

The last word goes to Steve Winwood: