What are your thoughts on the Presidential Debate ?

[iNow]

8 minutes ago, StringJunky said:

It could swing it any way.... it ain't over 'til it's over. It could be seen as a 'deep state' plot to knobble their man by Antifa. Would Pence be the nominee if Trump is out of it?

It's complicated and uncertain. More likely is the electors in the electoral college will just decide who should replace him and transfer the votes he received over to this other person. It's a messy new variable further muddying the waters in an already messy election. 

One thing that's almost certain to happen is a lot more arguing and more needless violence and chaos. The markets won't be happy, but our adversaries will be. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/02/were-final-stages-presidential-election-what-happens-if-candidate-withdraws-or-dies/

Quote

The bottom line is that the RNC would determine who the replacement candidate would be, should it come to that unfortunate situation. And Republican slates of electors in states the president won, because he remains on the ballot, would very likely follow the RNC’s recommendation.

But one last possibility to ponder: If the RNC were deeply divided, and Republican electors then did not coalesce around a single replacement candidate, there might not be a majority winner in the electoral college. In that case, the House would choose the president from among the top three vote getters in the electoral college. In that process, each state delegation gets one vote.

 

[StringJunky]

44 minutes ago, iNow said:

It's complicated and uncertain. More likely is the electors in the electoral college will just decide who should replace him and transfer the votes he received over to this other person. It's a messy new variable further muddying the waters in an already messy election. 

One thing that's almost certain to happen is a lot more arguing and more needless violence and chaos. The markets won't be happy, but our adversaries will be. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/02/were-final-stages-presidential-election-what-happens-if-candidate-withdraws-or-dies/

 

Reading in the comments, it appears Pence could be Pres until Inauguration Day.

Edited October 2, 2020 by StringJunky

[J.C.MacSwell]

On 9/30/2020 at 6:40 AM, Externet said:

Why the moderator does not have a fifty cent microphone-off switch for who is not supposed to talk that moment ?

I think it's best he didn't have one. Biden can hear Trump directly. At least if he's distracted by Trump's incessant interruptions we get to know why.

[MigL]

Just finished watching the vice-Presidential debate.
Moderation ( trying to keep M Pence from abusing set time limits ) was even more ineffective than last time.

And why don't politicians ever answer the questions that are actually asked ?

[iNow]

Maybe he was too distracted by the fly on his head. He probably kept thinking, “sweet! My first black friend!” 

Even the fly knew Pence is a piece of garbage. 

[Arete]

Can Trump and Biden just wear dressing gowns and slippers, and beat each other with nursing home meal trays instead of any more debates? It would be as informative, but vastly better entertainment.

[iNow]

The debate commission said the debate next Thursday between Biden and Trump will be done virtually due to Trump's positive covid infection. In his first post-covid diagnosis interview on Fox News, Trump said he'd be pulling out and they'd do a rally instead of a virtual debate. 

Hard to look tough when you withdraw from a debate because the moderator would have the option of muting you this time, but we all know he'll flip flop by later today and that this was probably just the steroids talking

[MigL]

I would like to see a moderator say
"No, you cannot talk about whatever you please; Answer the question."

And if they continue with their talking points that have nothing to do with the posed question
" So, you refuse to answer the question ? Let's move on."
So that the audience understands the situation.

Would have loved to see K Harris have a Biden moment, and tell M Pence
"Just shut up, man !"

[CharonY]

4 hours ago, MigL said:

Would have loved to see K Harris have a Biden moment, and tell M Pence
"Just shut up, man !"

I would not be surprised if she was coached not to do that. Generally women of colour poll badly when perceived as impolite (I think the Obamas talked about it in an interview).

[MigL]

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Generally women of colour poll badly when perceived as impolite

I would think anybody does.
M Pence wasn't too bad, but in his debate, D Trump came across as a guest on the Jerry Springer Show.

[iNow]

7 minutes ago, MigL said:

I would think anybody does.

Yes, but not equivalently.

Blacks, and black women in particular, tend to be held to a different standard / don’t generally receive the benefit of the doubt or consideration of these totally common human behaviors and responses as acceptable and normal in the same way that white men do.

Obama had to avoid the angry black man stereotype, and Harris the angry black woman, yet calling Trump an angry white man (while accurate) would seem completely out of place and abnormal. Cory Booker faced it too, as has nearly every black politician with a national profile. 

Edited October 8, 2020 by iNow

[CharonY]

21 minutes ago, iNow said:

Obama had to avoid the angry black man stereotype,

More than that even. Michelle Obama mentioned how they had to be almost perfect in all regards. In a way that did echo (on a whole different level of course) quite a bit with my experiences. 

[iNow]

22 minutes ago, CharonY said:

More than that even. Michelle Obama mentioned how they had to be almost perfect in all regards. In a way that did echo (on a whole different level of course) quite a bit with my experiences. 

She couldn’t even wear sleeveless dresses without being told she looked like an ape. Racism is still very present and very real. 

[CharonY]

25 minutes ago, iNow said:

She couldn’t even wear sleeveless dresses without being told she looked like an ape. Racism is still very present and very real. 

Absolutely, and there is of course a discrepancy in the perception as a minority of the population is on the receiving end. Considering that this also happens on the highest echelon of power is very telling for the rest of society.

[CharonY]

So there was a townhall with Biden and Trump separately. Holy moley, I almost forgot that US politicians may actually be able to talk about policy. Or coherently for that matter. Obviously, I did not watch one of them.

[Phi for All]

8 hours ago, CharonY said:

Obviously, I did not watch one of them.

You missed a nice shoutout to QAnon for their selfless work against pedophilia, from the man who asked a columnist once if it was wrong to be more attracted to your 13-year old daughter than your wife.

[CharonY]

2 hours ago, Phi for All said:

You missed a nice shoutout to QAnon for their selfless work against pedophilia, from the man who asked a columnist once if it was wrong to be more attracted to your 13-year old daughter than your wife.

Yeah I missed that. And you know what? I feel pretty good about it.

[John Cuthber]

4 hours ago, Phi for All said:

You missed a nice shoutout to QAnon for their selfless work against pedophilia, from the man who asked a columnist once if it was wrong to be more attracted to your 13-year old daughter than your wife.

I Thought the most interesting bit was where he said he didn't know about Qanon.
Isn't that a rather major oversight for him?
Surely, he should know about groups like that- at least the big ones..

 

[moth]

26 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

I Thought the most interesting bit was where he said he didn't know about Qanon.
Isn't that a rather major oversight for him?
Surely, he should know about groups like that- at least the big ones..

 

I guess a million dollar donation doesn't get much attention from a billionaire, why would trump lie? oh, that's right he's trump.

Edited October 16, 2020 by moth
fixed link

[iNow]

44 minutes ago, moth said:

I guess a million dollar donation doesn't get much attention from a billionaire, why would trump lie? oh, that's right he's trump.

I find it easier to compare him to the church of scientology and his followers act similarly like they're in a cult. It feels more accurate. They are also super aggressive against every single even slightly negative story.

[StringJunky]

6 minutes ago, iNow said:

I find it easier to compare him to the church of scientology and his followers act similarly like they're in a cult. It feels more accurate. They are also super aggressive against every single even slightly negative story.

It's certainly not based on commonsense. They are like the Moonies.

[moth]

The cult of some people who can be fooled all the time.

[Janus]

So,  I read that Trump planned his town hall after hearing about Biden's, and his intent was to "blow Biden out of the water" in the the viewership ratings ( you know how important Trump thinks TV ratings are).

The ratings came in:  Biden's were better.  Trump's blood must be boiling, and I wouldn't want to be the flunky he' s going to lay the blame on.

[iNow]

19 minutes ago, Janus said:

The ratings came in:  Biden's were better.  Trump's blood must be boiling, and I wouldn't want to be the flunky he' s going to lay the blame on.

By over a million viewers, no less. His team and Fox News were quick to act like crybabies because Savanah Guthrie was too mean to him... what with the way she followed up after he didn’t actually answer her questions.

I liked how Biden stayed for more than an hour after his town hall has ended. The show was over. The networks cut away. He stayed and kept speaking with the people who were still in the audience and who had a question for him.

That was a classy move during a time when classy leadership (or any leadership at all) is so persistently absent. 

[CharonY]

1 hour ago, iNow said:

Savanah Guthrie was too mean to him...

I suspect for some that would be the only reason to watch it. The fact that a "boring", i.e. typical political townhall gets better ratings kind of shows how folks have enough of the drama show. At least somewhat encouraging.