At precisely 9:11 PM EDT, my heart fell, and my soul figuratively dialed 911. I turned to my family and said, “It’s over.” I meant both the debate and the election. Biden haltingly stumbled that he’d created 15,000 jobs when he meant 15 million. However, the political version of Johnny Cochrane in the OJ trial saying, “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” came later with the one clip that will live forever in Presidential Debate history. Next to Reagan’s decisive “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” this Biden-Trump exchange will also be historic and immortal. Biden got lost and mumbled, “We be able to help make sure that all those things we need to do, child care, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our health care system, making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the, with the COVID, excuse me, dealing with everything we have to do with…,” (then freezing for several seconds) and he ended with, “We finally beat Medicare.”

Trump replied, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Biden stumbled and claimed that no soldiers lost their lives on his watch—forgetting the tragic Afghanistan withdrawal, among others.

Biden haltingly misspoke, and Trump fluently and energetically lied on everything from January 6 being peaceful and police inviting protestors into the Capitol to claiming that Biden is enrolling migrants into Social Security and Medicare.

The mutual low point of the debate was the pathetic pseudo-macho digression into golf. Golf!? I thought at first that they meant gulf—as in the Gulf of Arabia, the Gulf of Iran, or even the gulf in our society between the Progressives and MAGA. But no, they meant golf.

Trump boasted about winning two non-senior club championships and claimed that Biden couldn’t hit a ball fifty yards. Biden responded that with Trump’s height and weight, he’d be happy to play golf with the former president if Trump carried his own bag. Biden went on to claim that he has a handicap of 6, meaning he shoots under 80 on average. Trump called that “a lie,” adding, “I’ve seen your swing.”

In this rare moment of insulting irrelevance to performing as president, Trump was right. Biden was lying. Of course, Trump was lying about winning two non-senior tournaments—but that’s not news.

In some horrifying ways, this seemingly silly digression was important and revelatory. It showed the shallowness of the format, the impotence of the moderators, and the degree to which these two old white guys are out of touch with average Americans. This was a junior high school pissing match.

The one good thing from this widely watched cage match, and not really a debate, was that it brought many reasonable Americans together. The Progressives make up well under a third of the Democrats, and the hardcore MAGA people make up around a third of Republicans. Over 70% of Americans do not want to see this horrifying rematch. Over two-thirds of Americans are not extremists or ideologues.

We have two old and flawed candidates, and people here and the world over are asking with frustration and incredulity, “Is this the best that the once-great democracy of the United States can produce?” Obviously, we have better people, but we also have a failing party system that controls access to the ballot and funding. So, this is what we get this year—barring a medical emergency.

If the Democrats truly believe that Democracy is on the line, and they believe that Biden can’t win, do they remain silent and paralyzed, or will someone willing to sacrifice themselves and say that the “Emperor has no clothes?” Or, out of loyalty, do they swallow hard and risk the nation by sticking with the decent old man against the indecent con man?

The New York Times editorial board calls for Biden to step down. Thom Friedman, Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, and Bret Stephens all, with pain in their hearts, out of true affection for Biden, call for him to step down. So far, he is putting on a brave face and not panicking. On the other hand, many party leaders and democratic officeholders are appropriately shaking in fear.

No, Biden cannot be forced out. Even if Schumer, Pelosi, both Clintons and Obama have a “talk” with Joe Biden, he won’t drop out. A convincing talk with Dr. Jill Biden, on the other hand, might be the only, if extremely unlikely, path to a different candidate. And a different candidate, whether Kamala or Whitmer, Newsom or Shapiro, would be no guarantee of victory.

If you want to walk away or sit this election out because of these clearly flawed candidates, DON’T! This election is critical. Presidents make a big difference when they’re in office but leave a longer legacy with the Federal Judiciary and Supreme Court—a 30-year legacy. Whether you are turned off by either the character or competency of a particular candidate, vote for the imperfect candidate whose nominees for the Supreme Court best reflect your values. Your vote is important. It makes you a part of a future beyond many of our lifetimes.