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In the context of the polarised binary state of politics in the US in 2024 you are spot on.The debates are almost meaningless, Trump voters will vote for Trump, anti-Trumpers will vote against him it's not going to matter. It's not like no one has had any exposure to these guys, they know everything about them. The Democrats have decided running a corpse against Trump makes no difference, voters have already made their minds up.
But it's impt to bear in mind the US, unlike Australia, is a democracy where voting is voluntary, is held on a weekday, requires registration and often queuing in long lines during breaks in your working day for the privilege.
US voting history has shown that getting people out to vote, particularly those who already feel disenfranchised from the democratic process, is critical to swinging elections - especially for the Democratic Party.
Having two candidates who are not seen as being fit for presidential service (for character or competency reasons) will not encourage voter turnout and will have a detrimental effect on the legitimacy of the electoral process and the following four years. This is how the disastrous performance of Joe Biden in the first Presidential debate should be judged. I mean, the guy's electoral chances were effectively over within 10 minutes of the debate starting and we are more than four months from the election date.
For that reason it's essential that Biden be replaced as the Democratic candidate as quickly as possible. Not just for US citizens but for US trading and defence partners in the rest of the world, including Australia, whose economy and strategic global positioning are heavily reliant on competent US leadership.