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

She won the debate with Donald Trump, and immediately called for another with him.

- Edward Luce

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.

Under the circumstances, Ms Harris did better than that. Forget Taylor Swift's post-debate endorsement (though given her reach, that might be hard to do); celebrity blessings rarely shift the dial. Ms Harris shut down lingering fears of her inadequacy for the fight.

Even during the peak of Ms Harris' triumphalist convention in Chicago in August, delegates confessed to fears about her looming encounter with Trump.

Amid the customary bravado about how their candidate would romp home, Democrats could not disguise a gnawing dread about Ms Harris' upcoming clash indeed her first-ever meeting with Trump. Her history as a debater includes both failures and home runs.