Tuesday night at approximately 10:45 p.m., after the dust of the first presidential debate — if we’re still calling it that — between Donald Trump and Joe Biden had finally settled, I found myself in rare form: speechless.

I, of course, wasn’t alone. I spent several minutes combing through the annals of social media, scouring over everyone else’s reaction.

Upon my social media scramble, I saw several people say, “These are the two candidates we get to choose from?” 

I found the rethorical question maddening. 

Did you forget about the primaries?

The nation had the opportunity to nominate a number of quality candidates to run for president. So as the saying goes, we’ve made this bed. And as uncomfortable as it may be now, we must lie in it.

And sure, these are the two guys we have to choose from on the Republican and Democratic tickets, but do not forget about Jo Jorgenson, the Libertarian candidate. I typically vote Republican or Democrat, but I’ll be taking a long, hard look at rolling with Jo.

Regardless, I’ve never felt more sad after a debate. I wasn’t one of the millions that googled “how to move to Canada,” but I did feel some sense of shame.

The bottom line is there was nothing presidential about what transpired on the debate stage Tuesday night. It was more reminiscent of the arguments that I found myself getting into as a child — you know, the ones that would end with everyone getting in timeout. 

I’m hopeful the 74-year-old Trump and the 77-year-old Biden choose to grow up a little bit before their next showdown. 

Taylor Beck is the publisher and editor of The Covington News. He may be reached at tbeck@covnews.com.