22 August—Yesterday was the 165-year anniversary, as semi-literate news readers say, of the first of seven three-hour debates between former Whig Congressman Abraham Lincoln—a Republican by then—and Democrat incumbent U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas, before the Democrat-majority Illinois General Assembly would decide in January 1859 who got to fill the seat for the coming term.

In the bad old days before the 17^th Amendment was ratified in 1913, state legislatures rather than mere voters chose U.S. senators. So of course Douglas got a second term in the Senate. Forget about the details. Suffice to say the debates, held in seven Illinois towns, were largely about slavery. And in those days the Republicans were the good guys even though they weren’t exactly woke.

The debates were intended by the political parties to generate publicity. We’d call them media events today. And, thanks to the telegraph, Douglas versus Lincoln generated lots of national publicity. So even though Abe didn’t didn’t get the Senate seat, he got the publicity. And the admiration of the country. And the White House a couple of years later.

The debates were live, of course, now known as real-time. But can you imagine sitting through three hours of political palaver? In person? There must have been lots porta-privies or at least bushes on the various premises.

So that takes us to tomorrow’s kabuki in Milwaukee in which Republican presidential wannabes will be doing their best not to embarrass themselves. In prime time. Big deal. Who cares? For starters, Donald Trump won’t be participating, so there won’t be a really big shew, as Ed Sullivan would have said.

And televised candidate debates aren’t really debates at all. But one mustn’t be picky when it comes to politics.

In all events, Donald Trump doesn’t have to debate. And let’s not forget that he doesn’t debate anyway. He’s proved that in every so-called debate he’s violated since the very first time he stomped on a stage and made a total ass of himself.

By doing that, of course, Trump naturally won the hearts and votes of tens of millions of gullible Americans. He didn’t have to win their minds. That was lucky for him—or smart of him—because his admirers, followers, and supporters obviously don’t have minds. And don’t for one minute think the same can’t be said of Hillary Clinton’s and Joe Biden’s partisans. That’s one of the sorrows and shames of contemporary American politics.

Trump also is lucky that he doesn’t have to debate because he doesn’t know how to debate. He simply doesn’t have the intelligence, knowledge, or discipline to argue rationally or civilly about anything. Not that it matters to his base. Not that it matters in politics.

Trump doesn’t know about issues, doesn’t care about issues, doesn’t need to know about issues. Because he’s the only issue. It’s all about him. And he makes that clear to everyone, everywhere, all the time. Unfortunately, that in itself is a real issue, a disturbingly, distressingly real issue.

Besides being a big bully, a shamefully and shamelessly successful con man, and a thoroughgoing scumbag, Donald Trump is a natural-born performer and brilliant demagogue. (He’s probably insecure, too, which is precisely why he has to bluster, intimidate, and generally misbehave.) But he’s certainly not a leader.

Trump harangues his audience and harasses his opponents. It works for him, so don’t knock it. Melania should make him wear an anti-bark shock collar.

When Abraham Lincoln received the Republican nomination to run against Stephen Douglas for the U.S. Senate, he said in his acceptance speech, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” that “this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.”

Absolutely.

When Donald Trump received the Republican nomination to run against Hillary Clinton for President of the United States, he said in his acceptance speech, “There will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.”

Yeah, right . . .