people didn't watch him shoot the shit with voters at the wafflehouse at 1am after the debate either. He was grandpa old but he was in his element and did great even had a repeatable zinger "it's hard to debate a liar."
I don't know what happened, I honestly think it's a function of (i) age - acknowledging some kind of decline, (ii) stuttering is coming back (hard to control as you age), (iii) a slight panic attack at the mile a minute lies, (iv) he was coached to be someone other than "look here" folksy grandpa Joe, (v) a cold, and (vi) later in the evening.
But all of us are navel gazing about Biden, Trump was an angry lying asshole. He's not gaining ground on his performance, it was abysmal.
all of that said, I would prefer a different candidate, but I think there is a real concern about the logistical ability to switch - the campaign funding apparatus, the campaign staffing, the intel, and the GOTV apparatus. These things are "owned" mostly by the candidate and built over years, not days. There are also interconnections with other organizations, GOTV non-profits, etc. etc. that will be disrupted to some extent. Biden's campaign, even if you handed it ALL over to the next candidate is not going to simply keep running as is. Switching 120 days out is a very dangerous move.
so in this set of circumstances, I will vote Dem no matter what. Anyone who sees Trump as a threat should do the same, and maybe, just maybe in four years its Kamala or Gavin versus Haley and we can have a real debate about the candidates.