From Jonathan Bernstein:
More than half the country opposes the president. His boorish behavior has done little to win them over.
I’m baffled by the argument that Joe Biden should boycott the remaining debates. We’re within five weeks of Election Day, with millions of people voting. Unless there are extraordinary reasons to do otherwise, Biden should focus on winning, and winning by as much as he can. It’s still too early to say much about the effects of the first debate, but Biden won the instant polls. Democrats were bragging about fundraising while Republicans were quiet about it. Pundits generally took President Donald Trump to task for his unpresidential behavior. And a subsequent set of headlines focused on Republican politicians running away from their nominee. Trump’s most sustained attack on Biden has been that he’s no longer up to the job; refusing to debate would be the one thing that would make that attack seem plausible — and generate significant negative press for Biden.