Worried about tonight’s presidential debate? Join the club | Opinion

Here’s the way I watch scary movies: with a bowl of popcorn and a throw blanket I can use to cover my eyes when the action gets too intense.

I expect I’ll need that blanket for tonight’s presidential debate. Maybe some noise-canceling headphones as well, because this could be it. The big event that will go a long way toward deciding who gets to live in the White House for the next four years.

Then again, maybe it won’t be such a big deal.

After all, this only the end of June. There is still plenty of time for one or both of the candidates to get in or out of hot water before November. One candidate could even be sentenced to prison.

Still, tonight is a big test and for President Joe Biden, the stakes are especially high. According to the latest New York Times poll, former President Donald Trump has a 3% lead over Biden among likely voters, and a 6% lead among registered voters.

That same poll shows than 90% of Republicans still have a favorable view of Trump, despite his conviction, while only 72% of Democrats who voted for Biden in 2020 approve of his performance.

That means Biden has to nail it.

He has to woo Democrats back into the fold, and convince the undecideds — especially the “double haters” who don’t like either candidate — that he’s still up to the job.

In other words, he has to be as close to perfect as humanly possible.

It’s a tall order, but he’s done it before, and he can do it again.

And yet, watching Biden debate will be a lot like watching your favorite ice skaters compete at the Olympics. You hold your breath — hoping they won’t fall — and don’t exhale until the performance is over.

On the other hand, Trump — the consummate reality TV star — will be all bluster and confidence, and his supporters will eat it up.

They already are predicting their guy will win. One 80-year-old-woman bragged to The New York Times that Trump “is going to eat (Biden) up and spit him out.”

It is true that Trump can get away with anything. He can tell outright lies. He can go off on a tangent about sharks and electric boats. Heck, he can be convicted of 34 felonies and his supporters still love him despite it. That’s how blind they are to his flaws.

Biden’s supporters, who have their eyes wide open, tend to acknowledge his weaknesses.

He’s old. He appears frail. At times, he makes “false and misleading claims” as CNN describes them.

But he is not the lesser of two evils. Far from it. There’s nothing evil about Joe Biden, which is one of the big reasons his supporters are so keen on seeing him elected. And so nervous about tonight.

They are afraid he’ll look sleepy. That his hand gestures will seem too rehearsed. That he’ll sound hesitant. That he’ll be too quiet, especially compared to Trump.

Some of his supporters are so nervous that they’ve decided to skip the debate altogether.

Not all Biden voters are nail-biters, however.

“I’m not worried. People underestimate him,” San Luis Obispo tattoo artist Niko Raterman said. “A lot of Republicans view him as this feeble old man who crumbles under pressure. He’s actually a pretty good speaker.”

That’s reassuring, but I’m still going to have a blanket close at hand.

And maybe a glass of wine.