The Biden-Trump debate: An interview for the nation's top job

Presidential campaigns are sometimes compared to a job interview. Voters are the hiring committee, debates the in-person office visit.

But we already know Joe Biden and Donald Trump. To learn whether they will protect the Constitution, how they manage a crisis, or whether they have the character and temperament, we can look to their records in the office of the job that they want.   So, what is the point of this debate?   First, debates showcase the job seeker's performance skills – presidential bearing, warmth, and command. Even though we've seen these two perform (a lot), it's a chance for candidates to reverse the stylistic mis-impressions among voters that haven't been paying much attention.

Plus, the context changes in a presidency. Ronald Reagan was a well-known incumbent in 1984, but at 73 years old he was asked about his age, a concern voters tell pollsters they have about the 81-year-old Joe Biden.