Politics & Government
Keller: Disastrous Performance By Biden In First Presidential Debate
It was a disastrous performance by the incumbent, but will it make a shambles of his candidacy?
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June 28, 2024
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
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BOSTON - Coming into Thursday night's debate, each presidential campaign had an obvious goal.
For former President Donald Trump, it was to avoid the clownish behavior and constant interruptions that backfired on him so badly four years ago. And while the fact-checkers will have a field day with his usual parade of boasts and whoppers, for the most part he accomplished his mission. Trump's delivery was crisp and forceful, however dubious the rhetoric.
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For President Joe Biden, job number one was to dispel the persistent doubts about his age and cogency. But from the get-go his presentation was halting, his voice raspy. He seemed tired and over-programmed. (During the debate his people told reporters he had a cold. Must have been a bad one.) And Biden provided his enemies with an ample supply of faltering sound bites, including one where he completely lost the thread and declared he had "beat Medicaid."
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