Are You Ready For The First Presidential Debate?

[funinspace]

Trump will do just fine. It won't be a total blowout and Trump will have a moment of genuine empathy that will dominate the news cycle for this debate.

You were wrong.

Well you are right this time.

 

[funinspace]

Wallace was not a very good moderator. He should have directed Trump's microphone be turned off when he interrupted Biden loudly and often.

Definitely.
In all fairness, they didn't need a moderator, they needed a babysitter bouncer for Trump.

FIFY

Or an 7th grade home room teacher from 50 years ago who was a retired marine...

 

[Elixir]

What really REALLY disappointed me was the lost opportunity. Joe fucked up BIGLY by talking about how he was going to shut the economy down - exactly what Cheato wanted to hear. That talk makes the muddleheaded middle even more anxious at a time when they are seeking reassurance.

WHY THE HELL didn't Joe forcefully promise that within ten weeks (or ten minutes - what does it matter?) of taking office, every American would have access to testing with instant results, so they'd know exactly who (if anyone) among in their circle of family and friends was currently infected or had been infected and was carrying antibodies? THAT is what holds the promise of putting people at ease, not an endless battle over masks and restaurant seating arrangements.

Why didn't Joe excoriate president fuckface for failing to ramp up those capabilities in fucking January instead of trying to "keep the numbers down"?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Biden was limited in his responses. Trump wouldn't shut up. If Biden had time to think, a good retort would have been "In a Joe Biden Presidency, I wouldn't have set the bar at 2 million deaths for what would have been considered failure".

Biden struggled at times to get the words out in large part because of the never ending bickering by Trump.

 

[SimpleDon]

My take on the debate is that Trump is getting desperate, and he is lashing out the only way he knows, to attack, ineptly.

 

[Toni]

My take on the debate is that Trump is getting desperate, and he is lashing out the only way he knows, to attack, ineptly.

The attack on Hunter Biden's service was a really low blow and unsurprisingly, a lie. And it totally missed its target, instead adding to the filth already all over Trump's face.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Wallace was not a very good moderator. He should have directed Trump's microphone be turned off when he interrupted Biden loudly and often.

Definitely.
In all fairness, they didn't need a moderator, they needed a babysitter bouncer for Trump.

FIFY

Or an 7th grade home room teacher from 50 years ago who was a retired marine...

Or (Shudder) a rather mean nun experienced with teaching third graders. With a ruler.

 

[Politesse]

What really REALLY disappointed me was the lost opportunity. Joe fucked up BIGLY by talking about how he was going to shut the economy down - exactly what Cheato wanted to hear. That talk makes the muddleheaded middle even more anxious at a time when they are seeking reassurance.

WHY THE HELL didn't Joe forcefully promise that within ten weeks (or ten minutes - what does it matter?) of taking office, every American would have access to testing with instant results, so they'd know exactly who (if anyone) among in their circle of family and friends was currently infected or had been infected and was carrying antibodies? THAT is what holds the promise of putting people at ease, not an endless battle over masks and restaurant seating arrangements.

Why didn't Joe excoriate president fuckface for failing to ramp up those capabilities in fucking January instead of trying to "keep the numbers down"?

Joe Biden is not really the type to take serious action on major issues, though. I think we're on our own; as people, as a nation, as states.The federal government is not going to help us out of this crisis.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

My take on the debate is that Trump is getting desperate, and he is lashing out the only way he knows, to attack, ineptly.

The attack on Hunter Biden's service was a really low blow and unsurprisingly, a lie. And it totally missed its target, instead adding to the filth already all over Trump's face.

Except Red Hats were taking a shot down after Trump said. 'Yeah, put Hunter in his place! USA!! USA!!'

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

I did not watch, figuring it would be faster and less painful to watch the highlights. Best decision I've made in years, according to what I've read.

I'm sure SCROTUS's base ate it up, because they think a debate is the same as an argument at the bar after the sixth round of drinks. Hopefully the undecideds (really???) and those who were thinking about not voting were sufficiently horrified to take action.

 

[Gospel]

I think I can confidently give partial blame to Jim Lehrer for the decline in debates. I think the McCain/Obama debates changed the format from answering to the American people to focusing directly on your political opponent. Instead of just stating your case to Americans (like Biden tried to do occasionally) the debates have now added challenge your opponent in real time. Not sure why Lehrer put so much stress that they (Obama/McCain) speak to one another (I'm certain some have opinions) but that's where I think the quality debates started to decline.

Not to mention the quality of the debaters have declined too.

Edit: Just to be clear. Both Obama and McCain did great so the decline began in subsequent debates.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I did not watch, figuring it would be faster and less painful to watch the highlights. Best decision I've made in years, according to what I've read.

I'm sure SCROTUS's base ate it up, because they think a debate is the same as an argument at the bar after the sixth round of drinks. Hopefully the undecideds (really???) and those who were thinking about not voting were sufficiently horrified to take action.

I wasn't about to ruin my buzz.

I couldn't even make it through the 7:00 highlights at Politico's website this morning. Almost, but not quite. I witnessed a low class bully trying to antagonize a gentlemen. If anything, I hope it is a bit more motivation to vote for people still needing it. To not want such a crude individual representing the US any longer.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

One of Trump's many lowlights was when he took great offense to Biden using the word smart.

You graduated either the lowest or almost the lowest in your class. Don’t ever use the word smart with me. Don’t ever use that word. Because you know what? There’s nothing smart about you, Joe. Forty-seven years you’ve done nothing.

Trump claims they enacted major health care reform by getting rid of the mandate.

Wallace: Over the last four years, you have promised to repeal and replace Obamacare, but you have never in these four years come up with a plan, a comprehensive plan, to replace Obamacare.

Trump: Yes, I have. Of course, I have. The individual mandate.

Wallace: when I finish I’m going to give an opportunity-

Trump: Excuse me. I got rid of the individual mandate, which was a big chunk of Obamacare.

*for a moment you can hear crickets and Chris Wallace's brain rebooting from the dumb*

Wallace: That’s not a comprehensive place.

Trump: That is absolutely a big thing. That was the worst part of Obamacare.

*Chris Wallace pondering what mistakes he made in life that he was now being punished for*

About the environment and CO2 emissions and lowered CAFE standards? Trump manages to really fuck this one up.

Biden: Why have you relaxed fuel economy standards that are going to create more pollution from cars and trucks?

Trump: Well, not really because what’s happening is the car is much less expensive and it’s a much safer car and you talk it about a tiny difference. And then what would happen because of the cost of the car you would have at least double and triple the number of cars purchased. We have the old slugs out there that are 10, 12 years old. If you did that, the car would be safer. It would be much cheaper by $3,500.

I wish I was taking Trump out of context. He literally said increase pollution wouldn't be an issue because the cars are cheaper (and safer).

There was also one other part about the radical racial sensitivity training where Biden gets this confused look on his face... similar to mine as Trump going on about who knows what.

Trump: I ended it because it’s racist. I ended it because a lot of people were complaining that they were asked to do things that were absolutely insane. That it a radical revolution that was taking place in our military, in our schools, all over the place. And you know it, and so does everybody else. And he would know it-

Wallace: What is radical about racial sensitivity training?

Trump: If you were a certain person, you had no status in life. It was sort of a reversal. And if you look at the people, we were paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach very bad ideas and frankly, very sick ideas. And really, they were teaching people to hate our country And I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to allow that to happen. We have to go back to the core values of this country. They were teaching people that our country is a horrible place. It’s a racist place. And they were teaching people to hate our country. And I’m not going to allow that to happen.

What in the heck is he talking about?!

 

[Elixir]

What really REALLY disappointed me was the lost opportunity. Joe fucked up BIGLY by talking about how he was going to shut the economy down - exactly what Cheato wanted to hear. That talk makes the muddleheaded middle even more anxious at a time when they are seeking reassurance.

WHY THE HELL didn't Joe forcefully promise that within ten weeks (or ten minutes - what does it matter?) of taking office, every American would have access to testing with instant results, so they'd know exactly who (if anyone) among in their circle of family and friends was currently infected or had been infected and was carrying antibodies? THAT is what holds the promise of putting people at ease, not an endless battle over masks and restaurant seating arrangements.

Why didn't Joe excoriate president fuckface for failing to ramp up those capabilities in fucking January instead of trying to "keep the numbers down"?

Joe Biden is not really the type to take serious action on major issues, though. I think we're on our own; as people, as a nation, as states.The federal government is not going to help us out of this crisis.

Yeah? Maybe. That's why I said "within ten weeks (or ten minutes - what does it matter?)".
If you're going to spout bullshit, you might as well spout some bullshit that might move some someone closer to where you want them to be.
As an irrelevant side note, I truly believe that there will be little mitigation of the general unrest until testing of both infections an antibodies is freely available and utilized. I think that would do more to assuage fears and open the "economy" than a vaccine, or masks, or social distancing could ever do alone.

 

[Politesse]

What really REALLY disappointed me was the lost opportunity. Joe fucked up BIGLY by talking about how he was going to shut the economy down - exactly what Cheato wanted to hear. That talk makes the muddleheaded middle even more anxious at a time when they are seeking reassurance.

WHY THE HELL didn't Joe forcefully promise that within ten weeks (or ten minutes - what does it matter?) of taking office, every American would have access to testing with instant results, so they'd know exactly who (if anyone) among in their circle of family and friends was currently infected or had been infected and was carrying antibodies? THAT is what holds the promise of putting people at ease, not an endless battle over masks and restaurant seating arrangements.

Why didn't Joe excoriate president fuckface for failing to ramp up those capabilities in fucking January instead of trying to "keep the numbers down"?

Joe Biden is not really the type to take serious action on major issues, though. I think we're on our own; as people, as a nation, as states.The federal government is not going to help us out of this crisis.

Yeah? Maybe. That's why I said "within ten weeks (or ten minutes - what does it matter?)".
If you're going to spout bullshit, you might as well spout some bullshit that might move some someone closer to where you want them to be.
As an irrelevant side note, I truly believe that there will be little mitigation of the general unrest until testing of both infections an antibodies is freely available and utilized. I think that would do more to assuage fears and open the "economy" than a vaccine, or masks, or social distancing could ever do alone.

Probably. But realistically, that might take a lot longer than the "big men" in charge keep assuring us that it will... what do we do in the meantime?

 

[lpetrich]

Jimmy Higgins, link to transcript please?

Geoff Bennett on Twitter: "Sen. Tim Scott on Trump telling the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by" at last night's debate: "I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak."" / Twitter

He is a black Republican Senator, one of the few black Republicans in office.

**SoCalGirl** on Twitter: "@GeoffRBennett @KatyTurNBC But don’t all trump supporters constantly say they love trump because he says what he means and means what he says????

Can’t have it both ways. Trump is a white supremacist. He won’t go against them because it’s 90% of his base." / Twitter

Boima Blake on Twitter: "@GeoffRBennett @elisefoley Tim Scott went on a days-long rant about how Biden’s “you ain’t black comments” were the *clutches pearls* most offensive thing he’s ever heard, but seems to have a mouse in his throat when it comes to the leader of his party failing to denounce white supremacists. https://t.co/sSEctIMX4x" / Twitter

Paul on Twitter: "@GeoffRBennett Well Trump has tweeted several times this morning and hasn't "corrected" it, so that answers that." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy:
Chris Murphy on Twitter: "1/ Let's be clear ..." / Twitter

1/ Let's be clear - Trump had a goal last night to get his right wing, white supremacists to organize an election day intimidation effort. He succeeded. Recruitment by Proud Boys and others is underway. Here's why this is especially worrying this year - and what you can do.

2/ In 2018 a federal judge ended a three decade long court order on the Republican National Committee that placed restrictions on the RNC's "ballot security" measures and Election Day activities at the polls. Why were these restrictions in place?

3/ In 1982, Republicans used illegal harassment and voter intimidation to discourage Black Americans from voting. They sent targeted mailings warning about the consequences of voter fraud & posted armed guards at polls in minority neighborhoods. Thus, the court intervened.

4/ So if AR-15 wielding white supremacists are at the polls this year, there are fewer legal remedies to remove them. Trump knows this, which is why he is pushing so hard.

But you can do something about it. Volunteer here to help protect the election.

He then linked to Election Protection – Nonpartisan Volunteers To Stop Voter Suppression

Apparently real - it is associated with Common Cause - Fighting to Uphold the Values of American Democracy

Sign up to be an Election Protection volunteer

...
Help make sure every eligible voter is able to vote this November by promoting the nationwide nonpartisan Election Protection legal hotlines

If you or anyone you know encounters problems while voting, call:

With phone numbers for English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog, and Arabic.

 

[Rhea]

About the environment and CO2 emissions and lowered CAFE standards? Trump manages to really fuck this one up.

Biden: Why have you relaxed fuel economy standards that are going to create more pollution from cars and trucks?

Trump: Well, not really because what’s happening is the car is much less expensive and it’s a much safer car and you talk it about a tiny difference. And then what would happen because of the cost of the car you would have at least double and triple the number of cars purchased. We have the old slugs out there that are 10, 12 years old. If you did that, the car would be safer. It would be much cheaper by $3,500.

I wish I was taking Trump out of context. He literally said increase pollution wouldn't be an issue because the cars are cheaper (and safer).

I think the point he mangled is that, in warmer states like California, almost 80% of the pollution comes from 20% of the cars. (It doesn't work in cold states because they rust before they get to 20y old) And so the idea is that if you can make it cheap enough, people will buy a new clean car and take the old dirty emitter off the road.

The devil is in the details, though. You have to make the car cheap enough for a poor person to be able to choose it over a 20yo car.

And none of them are that cheap yet. Though you could achieve this by offering that if they bring in their running old car with Title, you (government) will trade it for a new clean one. A dirty car buy-back program. It would actually help a lot.

But don't be fooled, Trump and the GOP have no intention of investing in this. He is using it as an excuse to do nothing, bait and switch.

 

[Copernicus]

Joe Biden's best line of the night: "Will you shut up, man?"

I applauded when he said that. Biden had clearly been a little by Trump's bullying interruptions, and he struggled to find a way to respond to his  Gish Gallop rants.

The Gish gallop is a technique used during debating that focuses on overwhelming an opponent with as many arguments as possible, without regard for accuracy or strength of the arguments. The term was coined by Eugenie Scott and named after the creationist Duane Gish, who used the technique frequently against proponents of evolution.

This was not a "debate" in any real sense. It was an embarrassing display of alpha male outrage that made our presidential election look like a circus sideshow.

The Presidential Debate Commission needs to insist that only the microphone be switched on for the person whose time it is to speak. That would allow the moderator to give extra time to the speaker when the opponent tried to interrupt. The problem is that their rules require all debaters to agree to the rules, and they can't get that kind of agreement. So they should insist on it or simply stop organizing debates. These kinds of personal interactions can still take place by opening both microphones up, but under control of a moderator who can shut them off when the time limit is up. And they should tell moderators to consider themselves responsible for keeping to a schedule, not acting as a mere sideline referee.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Listen to @AyannaPressley.

The President is many awful things, but when people use diagnoses & treatments such as ADHD as insults, they aren’t insulting 45 as much as they hurt the millions living with these conditions - many of whom you likely know, but may not be aware of. " / Twitter

Ayanna Pressley on Twitter: "Donald Trump has earned the scathing critiques of his rhetoric, policies, corrupt Administration & disgraceful debate performance. However, given the many descriptors at your disposal, I appeal to analysts not to say things like, he is on drugs, forgot his meds, clearly has ADHD." / Twitter

Ayanna Pressley on Twitter: "Many in the public square default to these phrases when unable to make sense of a situation, which happens often w Trump. However, who you are really insulting when you use these phrases, are those seriously battling substance use, mental health or living w ADHD. Stop the stigma." / Twitter

ADHD: Everything You Need to Know

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health disorder that can cause above-normal levels of hyperactive and impulsive behaviors. People with ADHD may also have trouble focusing their attention on a single task or sitting still for long periods of time.

But I think that it is reasonable to call him a narcissist. He fits that diagnosis *very* well.