US Elections 2020

[filghy2]

But it may be, as Knighthawk says in the previous post, that decisions have been made, though if it is true 14% of voters have not made up their minds, that is a significant number- but will the tv debate inspire them to even vote?

It will probably inspire many to not watch future debates. Blowing up the debates seems strange behaviour from the candidate who is behind and needs to make up ground.

Perhaps they should just cut his sound if he continues to ignore the rules in future debates.

[broncofan]

I watched the whole of the tv debates which began just after 2am here. It was a mess, and I hope they won’t repeat it. Biden is not a great public speaker, and I am not really sure what he is proposing with regard to the immediate management if COVID 19, and was not impressed with his proposals on the environment which sounded ok but lacked detail.

I noticed this during his one on one debates with Bernie. I like him better than Bernie but kept thinking Bernie's answers were more detailed and succinct.

I'm not trying to make excuses for Biden but he has a stutter and the kind of hectoring that Trump engaged in means Biden falls back on a few defense mechanisms he has. He laughs, he smiles, he says "come on man" or something. It was not easy for him to respond when interrupted and while I think good debaters can do better I'm not sure it's especially important for a leader to be nimble enough to deftly deal with that kind of bullshit. Strategically I think it's important for Biden to try to avoid getting into the gutter with Trump.

I will tune into the town hall as well because format will be important for these debates. Either because the interaction is with the audience or because there might actually be effective moderation.

Two notable points from the debate: 1. Trump knows Pennsylvania is a problem for him. He is trying to incite violence in Philadelphia, where good voter turnout can end his nightmare reign as douchebag in chief; 2. He could not condemn white supremacists like even an adult would do. Forget the standby comments about the proud boys, he could not say racism and white supremacism is a danger for society and I condemn it. He's evaded the subject before but this was an important reminder and might hurt him.

[KnightHawk 2.0]

Last night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and the Democratic Nominee Joe Biden was a trainwreck and dumpster ,everytime Joe Biden tried to answer a question from the moderator Chris Wallace , Trump kept interrupting and talking over him,and hurling insults and spreading lies about mail in ballots which has been disapproving numerous times, his response on the global pandemic,which he and his administration has mishandled from the beginning,and when giving the opportunity to denounce white supremacy,he instead deflected the question and made a dangerous remark on the right wing militia group the proud boys,and he also showed how uneducated and unhinged he is and way in over his head to be president and leading the country,and moderator Chris Wallace lost control of the presidential debate from the beginning, hopefully the next two presidential debates won't be as chaotic as this one was. and Joe Biden needs to speak directly to the voters and tell them why they should elect him as the next president, and do his best not to respond to every disparaging remark Donald Trump throws his way.

[filghy2]

I noticed this during his one on one debates with Bernie. I like him better than Bernie but kept thinking Bernie's answers were more detailed and succinct.

I think Trump's obnoxious behaviour actually lets Biden of the hook a bit because it means the focus is on Trump's character rather than Biden's policy views. Many Republican commentators are saying this.

I wonder whether Trump is starting to give up on trying to win the election by appealing to undecided voters, given the lack of movement in the polls. Nate Silver says that he is further behind at this stage behind than any candidate since Bob Dole in 1996. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...him-dangerous/ He may be increasingly focussed on firing up his base to support him in refusing to accept the outcome of the vote.

[broncofan]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...92190680014849

Hot off the press ladies and gentleman. The man whose incompetence and callousness caused tens of thousands of deaths has tested positive for covid along with Melania. This will certainly effect the race but too early to say how.

[Paladin]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/...92190680014849

Hot off the press ladies and gentleman. The man whose incompetence and callousness caused tens of thousands of deaths has tested positive for covid along with Melania. This will certainly effect the race but too early to say how.

Affect, not effect.

[Stavros]

I don’t know if this is the ‘October Surprise’ because on one level it is not a surprise.

I do not wish this illness on anyone, but the President has become a victim of his arrogant refusal to accept that there are people smarter than him. Be it military affairs, sport, politics, the arts, or medicine and science, the President is inferior in experience and knowledge to most people. There is no law that says a President must be smart, but the Presidency, of whatever party, gives the incumbent access to a comprehensive range of expertise and knowledge. If the President decides not to use it, then he or she must accept the consequences.

But this also means that those who serve the President must do their job. And if it is the case they are or have been too scared to tell the President to wear a mask, that he must either not engage in events where large numbers of people congregate or limit those gatherings, and distance people at them, then they are culpable for the infection. We know enough about Covid-19 to know how the virus is transmitted, it is simply not good enough for intelligent people to elevate themselves above everyone else and presume they are immune. This is true of the President and his staff as it is of Governors and Mayors. None of us are immune to facts.

The worst affected places, be it the UK or the US have exhibited in too many instances a failure of politicians to implement, from the start, the most severe measures available to them. The refusal to act fast and in a comprehensive nationwide manner in the US is something the American people must deal with. But in 2020 and with the level of clinical expertise and knowledge that we have it was always the case that ignorance was not an option.

For the man and the country, this is another step backwards for the USA.

[broncofan]

Affect, not effect.

You are definitely correct. That's about the only thing I've ever seen you get right. I've been making a lot of mistakes like that lately.

[filghy2]

One thing that's clear is that we can't trust what the administration tells us about the President's condition. The doctors' press conference and subsequent clarifications sounded like an exercise in evasion. It also looked like it had been scripted by Hollywood with all those men in white coats.

[broncofan]

One thing that's clear is that we can't trust what the administration tells us about the President's condition. The doctors' press conference and subsequent clarifications sounded like an exercise in evasion. It also looked like it had been scripted by Hollywood with all those men in white coats.

I also expect that they lie but I'm not sure what they want the narrative to be. Initially they didn't want people to know he has covid because it makes him look reckless, which he is.

Now that we know he has it, maybe they don't want it to look severe because he's downplayed the severity of the disease for other people and he's generally vain and doesn't want to look vulnerable. On the other hand, if they think he's probably going to survive it, maybe they want to spin the story that he's stoic and went through hell and there's something inspiring about his recovery. If he recovers expect to hear stories about how bad it got and really poignant quotations from Trump about his commitment to the American public.

Just knowing the facts up until his illness it already looks disqualifyingly bad. He held a super spreader event without even reasonable precautions and more than a dozen of his own party members got sick and then he did not notify the thousands of people who were possibly exposed during the incubation period, from white house staff to debate workers. The steps they took to prevent the spread of illness would not pass scrutiny for someone even marginally competent and really tell the story about why our outbreaks in this country have been so bad.