Let's channel the late comedian Bob Hope cracking wise about this Thursday's presidential debate.  "So, I'm looking forward to seeing the Biden-Trump storyline or, as they call it in Hollywood, 'Lost Boys, Part Two.'"

"You know the president is prepared.  He and Barack Obama have been holding hands all week."

As for Mr. Trump, CNN has said no to him wearing a MAGA hat. Instead, he'll be rocking a CNN cap with the slogan: "Got ratings?"

Not bad, right? Jon Stewart could use me. Desperately.

Unfortunately, the debate could be one long joke.  I hope not.  We need some political definition in this country.  Millions of voters remain confused.

But how can that be?  The situation is so obvious.  President Biden's policies have hurt about 70 percent of Americans. Every poll says that.  Here is the question which produces that number:  Is America heading in the right direction?

No, it's not, says the vast majority of voters, as they pay almost four bucks for a gallon of gas.  Hi there, Jimmy Carter.

During Trump's four years in office, inflation was tame and so-called "real wages" went up significantly.

Nancy Pelosi wanted to impeach Trump for that but ran out of time.  If not for the election chaos, the Trump administration could have departed with a strong historical legacy.

But "if not" can be a troubling phrase.

The debate in Atlanta will most likely not deliver much that is new.  Joe Biden is the drama king, here. Will he get through the 90 minutes without wandering off stage and mussing up Tapper's hair?  Will he ingest some secret potion that turns him into an ice hockey play-by-play announcer?  Are they testing strange brews at Camp David as you read this?

In the opposing camp, Donald Trump needs to use facts to make his case that the country is in decline.  There are many examples.  Trump needs to hone in on five big ones and pound those home to the overwhelmingly pro-Biden moderators.

Then, at the end of the exposition, Trump should morph into Jack Nicholson in the movie "A Few Good Men."

Standing on the stage, the former president takes a pause, stares at the camera and says to America: "You want me on that wall!  You need me on that wall!”

"You can't handle the truth!"

Whereupon President Biden gazes out into space and says: "he's being facetious."

And then he slowly shuffles off stage under Barack Obama's close supervision.