Having thought about it since Thursday...Biden threw the debate deliberately.
Think about it as I lay out my reasoning.
1. When does Biden need to actually nail a debate?
When non-political junkies and the media are paying attention.
Is that before or after Labor Day? After. Because most voters are busy with vacations, kids at home, escaping the heat and aren't part attention.
*paying
Which means Biden needs Trump to show up in September.
Now, how likely would a narcissistic asshole like Trump show up if he thought he was going to lose? How much MORE likely is going to show up to humiliate a rival?
Moms are expected to maintain a household, take care of all children, do so on whatever budget they can scrape together, and be endlessly forgiving towards their abusers.
Dads have zero expectations of doing *anything* right, are permitted to be abusive, can spend money on whatever they want, and walk away leaving Moms to clean up the disaster.
They also get lavish praise for doing anything marginally useful or positive.
Hence the media giving fawning coverage to Cheato's occasional nondestructive actions. And Biden's harsh coverage for not doing impossible tasks perfectly according to an arbitrary and ever shifting standard.
I have done numbers porn on the early votes. I am a terrible person.
Who wants to see?
Caveats: I did not add the 10% voters to the opponent’s total. Mostly because I forgot to at the start so never bothered to update. I admit, I am somewhat lazy.
Further, I did not bother to check any state reg numbers or when it started.