Twas indeed a tough Tuesday night, but good training for all those 2016 election nights.

Here are some day-after midday news/views treats:

* Justice Sotomayor presides over same-sex wedding. Who’d a thunk it a few years ago?

* At the Plum Line, Paul Waldman argues that none of the candidates last night really addressed the issue of what to do about Republican obstruction in Congress. More about that later.

* At Religion Dispatches Sarah Posner takes a close look at Ben Carson’s answers to questions about the end times, and finds him closer to conservative evangelicals than to his own Adventist tradition.

* At TNR, Jamil Smith deplores the limited way in which #BlackLivesMatter came and went during last night’s debate.

* Looking for a real deadline for Biden to announce a presidential campaign or the lack thereof? First could be October 29 ballot deadline in Georgia.

And in non-political news:

* It’s cookies on the line today for four teams facing game five in American League Division Series.

As we break for lunch, here’s “Son” Thomas with the meal-appropriate “Beefsteak Blues.”

YouTube video

Our ideas can save democracy... But we need your help! Donate Now!

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.