Joe Biden gambled heavily that an early debate with his challenger — the earliest in presidential debate history — would move the campaign needle in his favour. He lost big time. In the first 10 minutes, his raspy, often hesitant and sometimes befuddled replies to questions created immediate panic in the ranks of senior Democrat supporters and glee among Republicans. His closing two-minute remarks were described as “perhaps the worst in the history of presidential debates.” As the Wall Street Journal observed, “he failed to speak clearly, did so in a weak voice, and sometimes could not complete a coherent sentence.” The image of his wife Jill helping him step down carefully from the podium to meet the moderators added an exclamation point to his sad performance.