First off, for a rundown of the actual debate, please go to Cassandra and Adrastos, who spoke to actual meat and potatoes of the old screaming man vs. the very smart woman very well. This is going to be a quick look at what it might mean in November.

First off, the kinda bad news (hang on to the last word, I promise a happier ending): there’s a chance that Harris destroying Trump will not really matter much. The race could still be neck and neck on Election Night. I am just going on past history here, so don’t freak out at me, I’m not downplaying what Kamala did. Let’s look back:

Kerry won all of his debates against Dubya Bush in 2004.

Hillary wrecked Trump’s ass in 2016.

Biden won both of his debates in 2020.

I think we recall what happened here. Kerry lost, which was the last time a Republican won the popular vote. Well, you know what went on in 2016, of course. Biden won but the debates didn’t really move the needle much.

Americans have watched Trump mishandle the worst pandemic since 1918 so badly that we had an economic collapse and the deaths of 1.2 million Americans, created a violent coup attempt, routinely talked about being a flat-out dictator, made increasingly bizarre statements at rallies and during interviews about Hannibal Lector, sharks and electric boats, windmills, dishwashers without any water, etc. And yet here we are, a close race. Much of that, of course, can be laid at the feet of too many of our media outlets/pundits/journalists for sanewashing this nonsense. But after a while, your favorite undecideds/moderates/independents in your life need to wake up and see what is going on around them. Maybe even say to themselves “I know I have lived my life married to the idea that both sides are just as bad and all politicians are the same, but good Lord, watching the debate has made me rethink this.”

Now, we get to the “on the other hand” part…everyone has gone through PTSD from the Biden-Trump debate back in June, which makes this particular situation somewhat different. We have experienced a Trump presidency, and the base knows that things in the GOP are even worse. We have a nightmare of a Supreme Court, Trump has completely absorbed the party, and they are much more organized now – they even have a plan, Project 2025, which you may have heard of. People are scared, but scared doesn’t always mean freezing up, it can mean motivation.

Instead of curling up into a whimpering fetal position, my fellow Democrats are out there gettin’ it. Fundraising is up, volunteering is up, and we have the most intensive GOTV operations in American history. Things are happening that might not be captured very well in polls, such as voter enthusiasm, which we are currently leading in.

Stuff like immigrants eating pets and “abortions” happening after birth are crazy talk things that just might shift enough undecideds into reality. Despite the best efforts of The Fucking New York Times and Murdoch’s Washington Post making claims to the contrary, Harris provided Americans with some red meat in that debate, going into as much detail as you can in such a format. She has added it to her website and I am hoping she does some more media interviews where she can expand on it for those people who suddenly claim to be policy wonks and demand more detail.

So, even if the bump after the debate is minimal for Harris, there are two ways to look at it that are both optimistic AND realistic. One is even if Harris gets a small bump of a point or two, that is significant right now. And the other is the effects of the debate probably won’t be fully captured in polls.

The last word goes to World-Famous Childless Cat Lady Taylor Swift. Instead of posting one of her songs, I’ll instead share that endorsement you may have heard about.