By Ray Cardello for June 26, 2024, Season 27 / Post 12

Back in the day, about sixty years ago, the Celtics dominated the NBA for 13 years, winning 11 championships. Only John Wooden and his UCLA Bruins may have had a better run. There was one constant with all of those banners hanging from the old Garden rafters: the coach. Red Auerbach was a one-man show, wearing all of the hats of the organization. He was Coach, General Manager, and President. Red would not have known what to do with a row of specialty coaches sitting behind the bench as they do today. Each team has more coaches than players. It seems so unnecessary. You are probably wondering where I am going with this line of thought. I’m getting there.

The first Presidential debate is scheduled for this Thursday, and the two candidates could not be more different, even in their debate prep. Trump is old school. He is Red Auerbach. He is campaigning daily and holding rallies at night. Trump is aware of the events of the world and has his answers down pat for any question. Biden is new school, baby. He is in seclusion at Camp David, working hard with his 16 debate coaches to grasp current events. He is also practicing how to mask the least successful presidency in history. The Dems are getting more anxious as we get closer to show time. The legacy media is bracing for a Biden loss, and Obama and Hilary are making noise about a replacement for Biden should he bomb on Thursday night.

Biden has to stay away from policy discussion and stick to insulting Trump. Trump has to stay away from personal attacks and stick to policies. Trump has a record showing the contrast between his and Biden’s terms. He does have to go after the lies that have become the Biden legacy. The Biden surrogates are spread across America, trying to convince Americans that they are better off under Biden. Lying to us is insulting enough, but trying to convince us we have amnesia and do not appreciate the good times we are in. They use a similar approach to people who said they were better off under Trump. They are trying to convince these people they do not remember the Trump years and were not good.

The prep the Dems feel Biden needs is sad. This man is the leader of the free world, and he needs to spend time in a simulated CNN set to develop a comfort level for the aging president. They have Biden standing for ninety minutes twice a day to try to prepare him physically. Unless they turn to some magical pharmaceutical to get him stoked, as they did for the State of the Union, the Dems cannot turn Biden into a younger, more vital version in a week.

Finally, the debate for Trump will be unfair. It will be one against three, as two allies from CNN join Biden. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash have been open about their disdain for Trump. They will use their roles in the debate to bolster Biden and tear down Trump. Knowing this makes a Trump win on Thursday night even more impressive.