Biden used to be really good against that tactic, it's why he won the debate in 2012 against Paul Ryan. Ryan gish galloped and Biden responded with a simple 'POPPYCOCK!'. It worked.
Is that really what you saw on that stage tonight? I saw a guy who lost his car keys because he was so angry at those kids on his lawn. Whether or not the narrative on Biden is fair, he just totally legitimized it.
I get what you're saying about debating with Trump, or any Republican really. Debate is a lot easier when you care nothing for the truth. Overcoming that is the Democratic candidate's job. That's what Biden signed up to do. That's what the Democrats picked him to do. A candidate who can't function in that situation has no business on that stage. There are a great many Democrats who could have wiped the floor with Trump.
I like AOC. Unfortunately the majority of people, due to innate racism or misogyny, won’t vote for her. One of the only reasons Biden is there is they know he’s the most likely to get votes from all over the country.
Yes, he is smart, and showed great intelligence, but in this instance severely underperformed in his ability to communicate clearly, like someone having a panic attack at a presentation. If you read a transcript of the debate it would be clear who is a leader and who is a clown. The raspy cold voice compounded things but those are all superficial elements, not on the substance (which Trump had nothing but lies and snide remarks).
I agree this isn't what any Democrat including Biden wanted in the debate and AOC, Sanders would be way better orators. I'm saying regardless of tonight, Americans have picked before a charismatic comic in Reagan over a tepid, but smart, compassionate leader like Carter.
See also: Bush vs Gore (though Republicans still had to cheat to win) and Bush vs Kerry. One candidate makes intelligent, considered points while the other throws out cheap bullshit soundbites. The bullshit soundbites guy wins the election every time.
The first part of your response is illustrative of the bigger issue, Americans just can't focus on substance over style. We're solely fixated on tonality, body language and facial expressions... Like a still-developing toddler... Or a dog.