By Merpu Roa
McAllen, TEXAS ( MindaNews) – To describe that Democrats are in a state of panic after Thursday’s first Presidential debate between US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, is an understatement.
Underscoring this sentiment was the quick social media appearance of former President Barack Obama on Friday appealing directly to the American people for contributions to resuscitate Biden’s campaign kitty.
Aside from panic, there was a high degree of frustration and anger as to how the 81 year-old reelectionist mumbled incoherently during the first half of the debate, broadcast live by CNN.
A hospital nurse attending to me during a medical procedure confusedly questioned how America could arrive at this political impasse, obviously referring to an aging chief executive noted for several gaffes, and credited for an open border policy that allowed the illegal entry of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants from Latin America and elsewhere.
She was also referring to Donald Trump, an arrogant bully and a convicted felon. She admitted though America’s economy slightly improved during his watch. But the way he administered his government, both domestically and internationally, led to his isolation and ultimate downfall.
Though many Republicans hailed Trump as debate winner, several of them noted he was more focused on destroying Biden’s persona, somehow bolstering post-debate polls that Biden lost, but Trump didn’t win either.
Obviously, American voters are squeezed in such a bind that many Democrats believe Biden is unfit mentally and physically to serve as a second term president, with some even proposing someone else should be the party’s frontrunner.
“God help us if Trump becomes president again,” a visibly troubled hospital nurse told me.
(Mindanawon Abroad is MindaNews’ effort to link up with Mindanawons overseas who would like to share their experiences in their adopted countries or their thoughts on what is happening in the country of their birth. Merpu Roa of Ozamiz City, one of the founding members of MindaNews, is presently based in Texas, USA and is president of the Philippine American Chamber Commerce of Texas, Rio Grande Valley)
