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Longtime GOP pollster and strategist Frank Luntz lambasted former President Donald J. Trump for his undisciplined outing in Philadelphia and said Trump had totally blown his election chances with his bluster and rants.

A close, 30ish family member of mine agreed. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœIt wasnÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t much of a contest,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� she said. ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœTrump just made a fool of himself.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ�

CNNÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s post-debate polling had Trump losing the debate to Vice President Kamala Harris 63 to 37. Pundits weighing in on all networks formed a consensus that matched that score. Two days later a Reuters poll had Harris up five points over Trump nationally.

I wouldnÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t go as far as Frank Luntz did, as six weeks to the Nov. 5 balloting, in political terms, is an eternity. Lots can happen on the foreign and domestic front, as well as the bear trap of an ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœOctober Surprise.ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� This latter can be an unexpected illness, a positive or negative incident on the campaign trail or the uncovering of a scandal concerning a party or a candidate.

Like many in my circle of family and friends I, too, watched the whole debate ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ” except for a couple of minutes to check on a baseball game..

I have to say I was unhappy with all three components of the debate. With Trump, with his Democratic opponent, Harris, with the host network, ABC, and ita chosen debate moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Because so much is at stake in this election, I was actually rooting for Trump to show up as, well, ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬœpresidential,ÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ� steady, in control of himself, and in command of relevant facts. The debateÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s first 15 minutes gave me some hope. Then a moderatorÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s question or some quick remark by Harris about TrumpÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s legal troubles got him off his game. From there on I thought he was a downhill train wreck.

Harris was challenged by Trump to explain why so many voters think they were better off economically under his presidency than they are today. She had plenty of ammunition with which to respond, but instead he dodged the question.

What Madam V.P. could have said, but didnÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™t, was that the legislative achievements of the administration of President Joe Biden and herself have outpaced anything done in Washington since the tenure of Lyndon B Johnson.

The Biden-Harris duo has overseen the creation of 14 million new jobs, the passage of the most important infrastructure bill ever, fixing roads and bridges in all 50 states after Trump struck out in all his infrastructure gambits, record stock market growth (28%) and record low unemployment.

None of this did Harris bring up or even hint at bragging about.

Finally, the ABC moderators sometimes seemed bent on pinning Trump against the wall while going considerably lighter on Harris. They did not always follow up well and cut off interesting moments of debate in progress between Trump and Harris to switch to a different topic.

Overall, IÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™d give ABC low marks for the handling of the debate. A shame for such a critical election in our countryÈËÑýÉ«ÇéƬ™s tilt with dark forces challenging the very survival of our democracy, free and fair elections, and the rule of law.