I wasn't planning on watching the presidential debate. Contrary to what readers may believe, I do not like politics. I much prefer the law. I'd rather read a transcript of oral argument than sit through a meaningless political debate. My agenda for last night was to finish a long post on Murthy and finish reading Jarkesy. I only managed the former task. I turned the debate on when a friend messaged me that the 25th Amendment should be invoked. It was hyperbole, to be sure, but not too far from the truth.
Here are a few reactions. First, we often talk about judges in a state of mental decline: Judge Posner, is an extreme example. To a lesser extent, we've discussed Justices Ginsburg and Stevens. But even at their worst, these jurists were orders of magnitude more coherent and confident than anything we saw last night. Perhaps the presidency takes a bigger toll on a person than a judgeship.
Second, I think back to Ron Hur's report:
