One of the most powerful ideas of the Trump era has been a liberal yearning for a return to “normal,” the impulse to get rid of Donald Trump, get back to brunch, and simply stop paying attention to politics for another four years. It’s what helped give the Democratic nomination to Joe Biden, who promised that, while “nothing will fundamentally change” under him, and the national and global crises that led to Trump will be allowed to fester, you at least “won’t have to worry about my tweets when I’m president.”

Wednesday’s vice presidential debate showed exactly why that idea has always been so dangerous.

For many commentators, Wednesday’s debate, coming after a Trump-Biden matchup near-universally derided as a national embarrassment, was not just a preview of what could be the race in 2024, but the closest we’ve gotten in four years to a simpler, better time. And it’s true that the contest between California senator Kamala Harris — a corporate fundraising machine and prosecutor of the poor who postures as a born-again progressive — and vice president Mike Pence — a hard-right, fundamentalist zealot who presents himself as sober and serious — felt like a trip to a world before Trump’s election ruptured the status quo.