The three generalizations across the board despite the multiplicity of candidates. First, none of the Democrats eager to infest the Oval Office have ideas for improving government. Second, all are ambitious to expand government. Third, those who lean left-most have most of the energy and self confidence.

All Left-lurching pundits agree that all the candidates on display during the debates will make better presidents than Donald J. Trump. Almost all the Republican and conservative pundits agree that Trump ‘won’ the debates, even though (or because) he did not participate.

Jake Tapper, one of the moderators, made an important point: “In poll after poll, Democratic voters say that they want a candidate who can beat President Trump, more than they want a candidate who agrees with them on major issues.” This, more than any other factor, has made Joe Biden the man his party rivals need to beat. It is commonly assumed that Good Ol’ Joe holds the moderate position. A man who served as Vice President of the United States for eight years can’t be dismissed as a radical.

On the other hand, vice presidents can be dismissed as dim-wits (e.g., Dan “Potato” Quayle). Joe didn’t get caught misspelling potato during the debate but neither did he display a confident mastery of he issues. This could be a problem. It’s not enough to be a centrist. You have to be a competent centrist. His rivals, especially Warren and Sanders, will spare no efforts to find ways to imply that Joe is slow.

Last Wednesday, Biden seemed confused about the cost of Medicare for All ($3 trillion or $30 trillion). He as poked and prodded for the Obama-Biden administration’s record of mass deportations and his sponsorship of crime bills that led to mass incarceration of African Americans. He responded so poorly that Mayor Bill de Blasio warned him “Mr. Vice President, you want to be president of the United States, you need to be able to answer the tough questions. I guarantee you if you’re debating Donald Trump, he’s not going to let you off the hook.” Bill de Blasio—the dimmest bulb in the marquee? It does poor Ol’ Joe no good to rebuked the Bill de B.

All the same, it’s fair to say that Joe was clearer and less confused during Wednesday’s debate than he was earlier. He knew he would be the primary target and came prepared to fight back against attacks on his record concerning healthcare, immigration and criminal justice reform. Fighting back meant attacking his rivals’ records.

The Associated Press examined the debates for facts and lies (http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd). Check the site and you will find numerous fibs and errors and some examples of glaring hypocrisy. Nothing really astounding, just a pack of politicians hawking their shabby goods.

The entrepreneur Andrew Yang, pushed his silly scheme to reward everybody for being here in the United States with a basic income. People who actually work will get some of their taxes back as basic income. Others will escape taxation entirely as long as they don’t work. All very nice, but Yang’s closing statement stood out. Read it: “We’re up here with makeup on our faces and rehearsed attack lines, playing roles in the reality TV show. It’s one reason why we elected a reality TV star as president. We need to be laser-focused on solving the real challenges of today.” His debate mates were laser-focused on their Democratic rivals, and that’s not going to change in September’s re-match.

John Frary of Farmington, the GOP candidate for U.S. Congress in 2008, is a retired history professor, an emeritus Board Member of Maine Taxpayers United, a Maine Citizen’s Coalition Board member, and publisher of FraryHomeCompanion.com. He can be reached at jfrary8070