Steve Farnsworth is back with us political analyst with the University of Mary Washington Steve good to see you here uh your thoughts on this debate The Contours what you think we're going to see well it's clear that the key question for the Harris campaign is uh basically a question of definition the challenge that she has coming in later in the campaign cycle to replace Joe Biden as the nominee that is going to create a lot of attention focused on who she is what her character is like what her temperament is like what are her key policy issues and I think that's also going to be the focus on the Republican side I think that the Republicans have been trying some with some success not a great deal of success though in all honesty to create an environment that defines con Harris as too liberal too dangerous too risky too untested and so expect the focus really from both campaigns to be on who the vice president is and where she would take the country yeah so it's an opportunity for her to reintroduce herself I guess it's fair to say uh Steve uh to the country but you know I mean a debate you know it goes on you get you know 2 hours or so um is that really going to be enough for people to put their faith in her and say yeah you know what I think she's got what it takes to be commander-in-chief well of course there is also the factor that there are questions now swirling about around Donald Trump remember uh Joe Biden left this race in large part because of questions about whether he would be up to the next four years now uh Donald Trump is 78 he's only three years younger than Joe Biden and some of the things that he said says it campaign rallies suggest a certain U well a storminess if you will in the uh the uh stream of Consciousness that comes from Donald Trump at these campaign rallies questions about sharks and electrical shocks on boats and uh questions about jailing opponents and the uh uh dynamics of a trump rally would not translate well to a debate uh stage and so I think there will be also those key questions about the suitability of Donald Trump um you're looking at a wideopen event uh to be sure and who knows what they'll say about each other yeah we're looking at KLA Harris there with Mike Pence when they had their vice presidential debate back in 2020 uh we're going to show the Battleground uh state map which you know is crucial here it really comes down to the six or seven states uh the Sun Belt and the blue wall as we call them and you know you look at the poll Steve very close in a lot of these uh States and the blue wall kahira seems to have a slight advantage and in the sun Bel States uh it's pretty much neck and neck for these two as well I'm I'm I'm wondering how ugly you think this might get here I mean Donald Trump has already tried to suggest that ABC News the host of the debate is you know the worst news agency in the United States that they're out to get him that they're in bed with kamris they're giving her the questions in advance uh you know this kind of thing it's almost like he's he's trying to say you know if the debate doesn't go well uh this is the reason you know for for me um what's your what's your prediction well I I do think that Donald Trump has two strategies if he loses it's because there's something wrong with the process something wrong with the structure he was cheated in some way uh but the reality here is that Donald Trump did agree to this debate and he did agree to these rules and so that uh environment is the one that was acceptable to him now the challenge of course will be always to look at what the evidence actually is with respect to this and so you can expect a significant policy Dimension to this conversation and a policy Dimension connected to those key swing States the uh question of immigration of course is particularly important in the border states um you have the question of economic insecurity that's going to be important in the Midwestern states and so uh even though we have 50 states in America expect this conversation when it turns to policy to be focused on issues of Economic and security and the Border those are the key questions that are going to be motivating voters in those key swing States Harris is already in Pennsylvania she's in Pittsburgh getting ready for the debate uh tomorrow in Philadelphia Donald Trump no doubt also U some amount of debate prep anyway Harris is going to No Doubt be asked many many questions Steve about her prior support for what would be considered quite Progressive policies uh now she has dialed many of those back as she is the presidential candidate as well um you know how how effective do you think she will be at at trying to kind of pivot and say look my you know my my values haven't change as she has said but I have been able to you know maybe pivot on on some key issues no doubt that's going to come up and we know she's a good debat that's pretty much established right and I think that one of the things that Harris is likely to say is point out the flip-flops on the other side remember Donald Trump has been back and forth and back and forth and back and forth on various abortion questions how he feels about versus weight how he feels about the Supreme Court appointments that he made that created a majority in the Supreme Court to a reverse R versus weight the question of the Florida abortion Amendment and he's a resident of Florida now how he's going to vote on that you've heard different things along the way so so make no mistake about it politicians on both sides are inconsistent um I do think though I think that a larger issue on this point is that it's important for politicians to adjust their assessments of how to proceed with policy based on evidence that comes out over the time that they're in public life and in examining these issues I think that it would be it's a politically Savvy move perhaps to be honest and consistent about where you were five or six years ago but I don't know that the country is better off politicians are afraid to make adjustments in their own policy preferences because it varies from what they said back in the past hey good to see you Steve on this Monday we'll be watching tomorrow I know you will as well thanks