Well, the final installation in the torture nightmare that was the presidential debates occurred Thursday and it was as you might expect. Two men spoke stridently in their indoor voices while Kirsten Welker, the moderator, seemingly forgot about the existence of the mute button and how to use it. It feels unnecessary to clarify that Joe Biden did not do most of the yelling—instead, he let his face do a lot of the heavy lifting, presenting a nuanced range of emotions that ranged from “Excuse me?” to “Can you believe this man wh0 looks like an unwashed Beauty Blender is still lying to you?” It was a lovely bit of theatre. A great performance. Bravo.
