A minute seems like a short period of time except in a pause during a debate where you’re only allowed a three minute rebuttal.

I know. I’ve been there and done that.

No, it wasn’t for the chance to prove my skills against a contender for my job. But it did involve a big deal at the time — representing my high school in regional and state forensic championships.

Only once was I pitted against a fellow who utilized falsified statistics as his argument.

And it stunned me.

I stared at the judges, anticipating my opponent’s disqualification. Instead, I was met with blank stares and uneasiness as the clock ticked down.

Finally I replied, “Someone once said you can argue with a person who’s wrong, but you can’t argue with a fool, or a fabulist. I yield the balance of my time to him.”

In all, I earned 25 medals in oratory, forensics, and journalism during my school years and was invited to speak at the Governor’s Ball in Detroit as the most enviable reward.

It changed my life, setting me on a path that found me watching last night’s debate, witnessing the performance of a fabulist stunning a meritorious man who didn’t recover in time to clarify his convictions.

Talking heads and polls may beg to differ — but I stand by my declaration of decades past, and my prediction of days henceforth.

Biden by a landslide.

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Marguerite Quantaine is an essayist and author.

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