Can the presidential debates be saved?

No one expected the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden to be a civil exchange of ideas. And presidential debates have long been forums for competing sound bites more than policy discussions. But even the most cynical of observers may not have predicted the shapeless, chaotic display that took place on Tuesday night.

Within the first few minutes, the debate devolved into a mess of interruptions, cross talk and diversions — driven largely by Trump’s unsuccessful strategy of trying to rattle Biden into a major mistake. The...