Well, that was fast.

On Wednesday morning, Joe Biden challenged Donald Trump to two debates, one in June and one in September, via a letter and an amusingly pugilistic video.

Trump immediately and somewhat peevishly accepted Biden’s proposal while also calling for more than two debates:

Within an hour, CNN proposed a debate on June 26th in Atlanta, Georgia, and both Biden and Trump accepted. And we are off to the races. Soon after, they both agreed to a September debate on ABC. Before this morning, the conventional wisdom was that a debate was unlikely. Despite Trump’s transparently false bravado, it wasn’t clear either candidate wanted a debate. Even if they did, it seemed unlikely that Trump would agree to a non-MAGA sycophantic moderator.

Now, as every Formica salesman in the greater tri-state area knows, no deal with Trump is done until the check clears, but it seems like a debate will happen sooner rather than later.

Here’s why Biden is right to move to get a debate on the books sooner rather than later.

1. Why This Makes Sense for Biden

It’s not intuitively obvious that Biden should participate in the debates. Trump is a moron who knows nothing about policy and couldn’t pass the U.S. citizenship test if he tried. However, debating with Trump is like trying to ballroom dance with a rabid hyena. He won't follow the rules or answer the questions. Debating someone who lies non-stop is a challenge because he’s constantly rebutting and fact-checking, which means you are on defense the entire time. Trump is dangerously unpredictable, and the most likely scenario is that he will turn the whole thing into a giant diminishing mess.

Given the political press’s obsession with Biden’s age, a president’s misstatement will be treated as a massive blunder. In contrast, the former president’s lies or absurdities will be considered par for the course...