During Tuesday's debate, Harris was in command; Trump was incoherent

Going into Tuesday night's debate, much of the focus was on Harris. It would be her first-ever general election presidential debate, with an opponent who had been on the stage many times. Questions swirled about whether she would be able to parry attacks from Trump, respond to criticism that she's light on policy and, perhaps most importantly, whether she could appear "presidential."

According to NPR's senior political editor Domenico Montanaro, the answer to all those questions was yes. Despite a nervous start, he writes, "Harris was calm, in command and in control and looked to the future, distinguishing herself from both Biden and Trump. A few notable points about her performance:

• Harris was far more dominant than Trump during the debate, calling him "weak and wrong." Harris responded to debate questions, then redirected and baited Trump on a host of issues.
• She got under her opponent's skin by saying that people at his rallies leave "early out of exhaustion and boredom." She also painted him as a bad businessman for inheriting $400 million "on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times." 
• Harris addressed policy, including tax breaks for parents and small businesses, as well as a first-time home-buyer credit for down payments. She also addressed her shift in position on fracking. 

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Meanwhile, Trump was incoherent and lacked any serious grasp on policy.

Montanaro notes, "if he was a boxer, Trump was cut and bleeding in the middle of the fight, and by the end, was TKO'd."

During the debate, Trump wandered through