Oh, on that you and I agree. But we are in this situation because we are ALWAYS fighting these fights in the short run, and taking the expedient way out. Bush made his own name toxic by never fighting back. He made Cheney and Rumsfeld toxic for the same reasons. That went on for 8 years. You are right, no time to reverse that in one debate. But why are we here in the first place? Wimpy short term thinking to win the friggin moderates.
But that’s the problem. At some point, we must stand up for the truth and take the short term slings and arrows. Reagan did in 79-80 and Newt did in 94. (yes, newt succombed in 95-96 but that’s another story). Both Reagan’s win and Newt’s win (Congress turn over) led to some damned good governing.
Seems to be a conservative "illness". They take the reins and then prove their ideas work better, then succumb to a combination of lethargy and buying into the Left's rhetoric and baiting. It would be nice indeed if they could stay focused instead of being diverted by extraneous "issues". The Left never gives up and the Right never leverages the full advantage once they obtain it. We're probably doomed in the long run but it would be nice to be able to believe we have at least recognized the right track for a while. If we had a fraction of the conviction the Left does, we'd never have dropped so far.