Donald Trump and Joe Biden are both too old to be president of the United States. Everyone is entitled to a bad night; however, the exception to that is the president of the United States. Too much is at stake in that job. Trump showed himself to be the bully most people already knew. It was more painful to watch him bullying Biden than to watch Biden struggle. More than a dozen appointees, fully vetted, left the Trump White House. Trump said that he fired them because they were no good. If true, talk about an error in judgment, wow. I could accept one or two, but more than a dozen? Maybe it is not the appointees but the leader who appointed them. We keep talking about bullying in our schools, and yet we are saying nothing about the bullying that appeared on the national stage last week. What a lesson for our children. As Trump deflected questions in order to keep bullying Biden, some comments stuck out — Trump essentially said that he would rather be at one of his clubs than be president. Was this another falsehood or should we take him at his word? We are blessed in that we have two very capable candidates available in Nikki Haley and Kamala Harris. Now, that would be a contest to excite America and “Keep America Great.” — Alan E. Lasser, Highland Park I hope they debate again Anticipation and curiosity surrounded the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Afterward, great anxiety gripped Democratic leaders because of several Biden behaviors: weak voice due to a cold, loss of train of thought, more pronounced stuttering and an overall lackluster performance during the first half. Yet, there was no freak-out by Republican leaders about Trump saying almost nothing that was true, that he took credit for others’ accomplishments and that he made boastful promises that more than likely would fail, given his record. According to a USA Today poll, after the debate, “Republican Donald Trump has edged ahead of Democrat Joe Biden, 41% to 38%.” A survey “in May showed the two contenders tied, 37% to 37%.” As the pundits mull whether Biden and Trump will debate again, I say: I hope so. In September possibly, if Biden delivers a forceful performance, a favorable bump in the polls might result. Given what the poll numbers are then, it might be a critically important bump. — Jim Bauman, Crystal Lake The question to ask Trump The moderators of the debate last Thursday did a horrible job. As appropriate to such an event, they asked President Joe Biden tough questions about his record in office. However, they behaved as if Donald Trump had no record to run on, asking such ridiculous questions as, “Will you accept the results of the election, no matter who wins?” If the moderators were framing their questions for Trump in the same way they did for Biden, they would have posed: “Mr. Trump, you have claimed voter fraud in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. Even though you had your case heard by more than 60 courts and the 2020 election results sustained more scrutiny than possibly any other election in our history, you still maintain the election was stolen and refused to take part in the traditional peaceful transition of power, as has every other sitting president before you. You have called the rioters who assailed the Capitol on Jan. 6 ‘patriots’ and ‘hostages’ and vowed to pardon them. The Department of Justice estimates these individuals did $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol that day. Federal authorities then raised their estimate to $2.7 million. At least 174 police officers were injured by the people you call patriots. One officer died after suffering two strokes thought to have been brought on by the brutality of his attack. More recently, you have said at your rallies that there will be a ‘bloodbath’ if you are not reelected. What can you say to voters to assure them that this time, you will live up to your oath of office to support the Constitution and uphold the rule of law?” — Janice Cody, Chicago Biden should be tested As Democrats are saying (and I am not a Democrat), having President Joe Biden drop out or stay on the ticket presents a quandary, to say the least. I would not want to vote for Donald Trump, but Biden’s performance may force me to do so, unless I am confident that the country will always be in the hands of someone who is firing on all eight cylinders. There may be a way out of the dilemma that the debate created. 1. Biden should concede that his performance was a reasonable basis for people to wonder if he is up for the job. 2. Biden should take a standard test used to determine cognitive decline, administered by reputable, independent clinicians, and he should make the results public. 3. If he fails the test, he should drop out. 4. If he passes the test now, he should pledge that he will continue to take such tests periodically during his next term. 5. If at any time the test results show him to be incapable of fulfilling his duties, he should commit to invoking Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, ceding control to the vice president. He should also commit to abiding by the provisions of Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, whereby he could be declared to be unfit by the vice president. Despite Biden’s poor performance in the debate, I still think he is an able leader now. I am far less confident that he will remain so for the next four years. But I also dread the potential damage that someone who says they will be a dictator on day one might do. — Jack Edelbrock, Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin Surface versus depth The presidential debate put forth a dilemma. Will we elect a president based on the self-aggrandizing appearance of being vigorous and aggressive, but who spouted one lie after another, or will we elect a president who has a raspy voice and had to overcome a childhood stutter and who has access to more than 50 years of experience and national intelligence? Style is skin deep. Morality is fundamental. — Susan Haley, Oak Brook Two egotistic candidates Last Thursday’s debate was between two old men guided by their egos. — Bonnie Zarch, Skokie Trump impossible to debate The fact checkers for NBC counted more than 30 lies Donald Trump told during the debate last Thursday night. Trump blasted Joe Biden with false narratives, twisted reasoning and misinterpretations of events, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, because they were lies. Having repeated the big lies so often to himself and to his followers, he sounds convincing. He delivers his lies with the full effectiveness of a snake oil salesman and practiced con artist. He bombarded Biden with his barrage of untruths. Sadly, Biden was stunned by the false blaming, name-calling and whining Trump hit him with. How can you debate with a man who lives in his own little world, a world of lies he’s told himself, who has no respect for the truth? — Marion J. Reis, Lombard A Democratic fairy tale Perhaps Hans Christian Andersen can weigh in with his opinion on Joe Biden’s debate performance in being as positive as Biden’s Democratic defenders profess it to be. Then, immediately after, the Democratic defenders can comment on Biden’s new clothes, as does Andersen’s sycophants in his fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The fairy tale of Biden being fit for the presidency can thus continue in the Democratic World as opposed to the Reasonable World. — Alan Hracek, Miramar, Florida Time for Biden to bow out There comes a time in most everyone’s life when it’s time for them to stop driving a car and it’s hard to tell them they shouldn’t drive anymore. I had a tough conversation with my 83-year-old dad (he was still riding a motorcycle), but he reluctantly accepted my advice. Let me ask this: “Would you feel comfortable riding in a car with Joe Biden driving?” Biden has spent more than half his life, 50 years, in public service and has done an admirable job as president. I applaud his devotion, but in the best interest of the Democratic Party, it’s time for him to bow out of the upcoming presidential election. Surely, his loved ones and close advisers know this, and it’s time for them to step up and have the conversation with him. — Dave Hirsh, Chicago Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.