Kamala Harris shuts down lingering fears of her inadequacy to be president

If there were any doubts that Ms Kamala Harris could stand up to Donald Trump, they were dispelled in

their first encounter on Sept 10

. It may be their last. The fact that Ms Harris ended the debate by calling for another one spoke volumes. We shall see if Trump risks a second encounter in the next 55 days until the election.

By any objective measure, Ms Harris won the debate – even some Fox News pundits called it a bad night for Trump. Whether America’s median voter will agree is another matter. Mrs Hillary Clinton was judged to have won her stand-offs with Trump in 2016. That did not save her at the ballot box.