Kamala Harris was no cream puff

Finally, at long last, after precedent-busting preliminaries, we arrived at the Main Event — the 100-minute, winner-take-all bout, the Felon versus the Prosecutor.

If you are a supporter of Donald J. Trump, you must be disappointed. After months of him calling Kamala Harris “stupid” and “incompetent,” she was neither during the throwdown at the National Constitution Center.

During the debate she was relaxed, often smiling, sometimes smirking, and often looking directly at Trump when on the attack, as she did most passionately on the issue of abortion. If looks could kill.

Most of the time Trump was scowling, or wincing, and very rarely looking at his opponent.

Each of them almost entirely escaped answering “why” and “how” questions and ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis let them get away with it, and also Trump’s demands to be heard when it was not his turn.

He did that almost as many times as he spontaneously mentioned illegal immigration, including the debunked tale that legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating the pets of residents.

Harris shamefully aired two debunked stories about Trump — that he said in Charlottesville there were “good people” when it comes to anti-Semitism, and that there would be bloodshed if he were not elected. In the former, he was talking about the issue of removing statues, in the latter, he was talking about the effects on the auto industry, if he were not elected. Harris also tried to tie him to Project 2025, which Trump has repeatedly disavowed.

Harris scored the first point when she approached Trump at the open, extending her hand, saying, “I’m Kamala Harris.” Trump was forced to shake her hand.

His best moment came in regard to Harris’ changing positions. Trump said she was adopting his philosophy, and “I was going to send her a MAGA hat.”

Harris smiled. It was funny.

She kept her cool. Trump did not. He did not blow his stack, but it was a slow burn. She looked happy to be there, he seemed unhappy.

In addition to immigration, he went to a favorite of the right wing — calling her a Marxist. “She is a Marxist. Everyone knows she’s a Marxist. Her father was a Marxist professor.”

Trump has a funny habit of evoking “everyone” as being in agreement with him.

His thigh slapper is the assertion that “everyone” and “every legal scholar” wanted Roe returned to the States.

In Trump’s view, everyone wanted Roe overturned. He says that all the time. No rational person believes that.

When asked about his weathervane changes on abortion, he refused to say if he would sign a national abortion ban, and said his running mate, JD Vance was wrong when Vance said he would not sign it.

Harris was most passionate when talking about women who medically need an abortion, who could not get it. She shook her head when Trump said Democrats want abortion in the “eighth, ninth month.” In fact, that is the Democrat position.

She was less passionate when trying to explain why she has changed her policies, but not her values.

If you are a Harris fan, you’ve got to be happy.

She looked confident, competent, and, yes, even likable, something Hillary Clinton always had a problem with.

Prior to the debate, almost one-third of polled Americans said they needed to know more about Harris.

Any fair-minded person liked what they saw. By definition, this does not include MAGA heads.

Everyone knows Trump, and many of them admit they will vote for him despite the way he talks and behaves.

They have to be disappointed, because they believed Trump’s lies that Harris would be a creampuff. A pushover.

This impartial judge gives the decision to the prosecutor.