Debate Night in America

[Crackpot]

I can’t believe what this nation has come to a prime time showcase of a young minority savagely beating a bitter confused old man.

[Big RR]

Maybe I saw a different debate, but I really didn't see Harris score a lot of points; Trump was what he always is--incoherent, angry, willing to lie, and, at least it seems to me, that's what his supporters like about him. I've heard "he's not afraid to speak the truth" so many times, and I think he gets the conspiracy nuts to line up behind him. So even though I thought it was entertaining to see how he came up with ludicrous lies (undocumented immigrants eating animals? ) and still maintaining how he won the last election, that's just playing to his base, and people who might be bothered by it would not be likely to vote for him.

A lot of pundits said she got Trump off message, but I don't ever know of a time when Trump was on message. He doesn't talk specifics, just rants and raves and accuses, and his supporters love him for it. If I thought his performance would create cracks in the republican support, I might score it a a win, but they have had 8 years (really a lot more than that) to see what an ass he is, and most don't hesitate to kiss that ass.

Harris did pretty well, and I think her demeanor was quite good given the situation; she didn't turn into Trump, but kept steadily presenting some of her positions and lobbing little barbs at Trump. Again, this will play well with her base, but is not likely to get any Trump voters away.

As for the undecided voters being courted, I really don't have a strong feeling one way or the other. My guess is the debate didn't sway many, those leaning toward Trump were not deterred, nor were those leaning toward Harris. And I don't see either of them creating a groundswell of enthusiasm among anyone but their supporters. Perhaps this might be a win for Harris as some might be stirred to go the polls to defeat the ass, but I think this is far from certain.

FWIW, I enjoyed Harris tweaking Trump and found his asinine behavior laughable, but then I have always seen Trump as an ass and would vote for anyone other than him (even if it means voting the same way as Cheney ), but this debate wasn't intended for me or people like me (who usually prefer to read about positions than listen to a candidate give a quick summary in an artificial situation).

[Crackpot]

You just like being contrarian don’t you?

[Big RR]

I must admit I often do, but this is my honest takeaway from last night. And I am still scared that Trump has a chance to win.

ETA: And, FWIW, I earnestly hope I am wrong and that this debate has turned the tide against Trump, I just don't think it did.

[Sue U]

Seen on the interwebz: "He calls her a Marxist, but she's not the one getting publicly owned."

As for the undecided voters being courted, I really don't have a strong feeling one way or the other. My guess is the debate didn't sway many, those leaning toward Trump were not deterred, nor were those leaning toward Harris. And I don't see either of them creating a groundswell of enthusiasm among anyone but their supporters. Perhaps this might be a win for Harris as some might be stirred to go the polls to defeat the ass, but I think this is far from certain.

I thought it was interesting -- and rather unexpected, at least by me -- that Harris made a specific and solid bid for Pennsylvania's Polish-American voters (and there are a lot of them), pointing out how Putin isn't going to stop with Ukraine and Trump would cede half of Europe to him. Even if it gets her only 10 or 20 thousand more votes, she takes PA and its 19 electors for sure.

[Big RR]

sue--I hope you're right; you know much more about PA than I do.

[Sue U]

sue--I hope you're right; you know much more about PA than I do.

What I know is mostly anecdotal from my own experience. For several years I lived in Bucks County very close to Our Lady of Czestochowa, which is a national shrine for Polish Catholics. (I'm not exactly sure what that means but it's a huge draw for the Polish Catholic community of eastern PA and nearby states at least, and was a very big deal locally; you could always count on state reps and congressmen showing up at their events). Anyway, from what I saw they are very tuned in to what goes on in Poland and maintain strong cultural and familial ties. To the extent that a national figure -- without prompting -- shows she's aware of and cares about Poland and Polish-Americans, I think that buys a tremendous amount of goodwill. (Then again, it was the '80s when I lived there so things may have changed.)

[BoSoxGal]

I thought it was interesting -- and rather unexpected, at least by me -- that Harris made a specific and solid bid for Pennsylvania's Polish-American voters (and there are a lot of them), pointing out how Putin isn't going to stop with Ukraine and Trump would cede half of Europe to him. Even if it gets her only 10 or 20 thousand more votes, she takes PA and its 19 electors for sure.

That was a brilliant appeal and shows how agile her mind is and how well she thinks on her feet.

I think she did tremendously well; she rattled his cage from the handshake on and gave him plenty of opportunity to fly his freak flag. And kudos to the moderators who kept turning on his mike and letting him blather his idiocy - his people wanted mikes muted for a reason and his repeated insistence on getting the last word totally defeated that purpose.

Kamala never came off as angry [black woman], which was her primary obstacle to overcome. She got her policy agenda out early and restated it often and it was focused on the American people and building a future entirely different from the Trump chaos past. She wasn’t playing for Trump voters and she doesn’t need to play for Democrats - she was playing to the undecideds in the swing states and I think her performance juxtaposed against his insanity will serve her well in that regard.

[Crackpot]

My dad’s cousin who lives in Poland and is an avid Trump supporter is extremely pro Ukraine and anti-Russia. (Don’t ask me how he squares that circle I don’t know and the trouble it would take to find out exceeds my curiosity). So yes it is something that Poles are aware of if they have any contact with the “old country”

[Big RR]

CP--my guess is that your dad's cousin (and those like him) buy Trump's "Putin wouldn't have dared to do attack Ukraine if I were president". It sounds stupid, but I think they really think Putin is scared of Trump (and he would keep Russia from invading Poland too) rather than just laughing at him behind his back (which was one point I think played well for Harris).

[Burning Petard]

One question in my mind as I reflected on the debate. Here in this BB I have met and lost friends and good people. This little virtual community has a history. One of those I miss is RayThom. I can imagine what his reaction would have been to last nite. So I will post the question:

How many cats does it take to properly feed a Hatian family?

snailgate.

[Scooter]

[BoSoxGal]

[Bicycle Bill]

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs — the people that came in," Trump continued.   "They're eating the cats.   They're eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Well, Trump (and his ass-kissing buddy, J.D. Vance, who also was spreading this manure around while out on the campaign trail) are only about twenty-five years behind the times when similar 'claims' were making the rounds — and back then, it wasn't the Haitians.   



For the record, this came out (and I used to sing it as a parody at karaoke night) back around the time Y2K was on everybody's mind.

-"BB"-

[Joe Guy]

....When it's over he will be trashing ABC and saying they were part of a conspiracy against him.

Trump says Harris debate was 'rigged,' ABC should lose license, but 'we did great'

Donald Trump on Wednesday morning blasted ABC News moderators for hosting what the Republican presidential nominee called a “rigged” debate against Kamala Harris, and said government regulators “ought to take away” the “terrible” network’s “license for the way they did that.”

But Trump also said, “We did great” in the Tuesday night debate during a call-in interview with the “Fox and Friends” show on Fox News.

“It was one of my better debates, one of my best debates,” said the former president, who nonetheless griped that the debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis “corrected” him too frequently in his showdown with Harris.

Trump said the debate felt like he was battling three opponents: Vice President Harris, and the two ABC News moderators.

Trump also brushed off pop star Taylor Swift’s endorsement of the Democratic nominee Harris, which Swift announced minutes after the debate.

“I am not a Taylor Swift fan … she’ll probably pay a price for it in the market,” Trump said.

Harris’ campaign had a much different view of the debate, boasting about her performance against Trump.

The vice president told supporters Tuesday night that “today was a good day.”

source

[Big RR]

I was waiting for that; his best debate ever even though it was rigged against him. What an ass.

[Crackpot]

CP--my guess is that your dad's cousin (and those like him) buy Trump's "Putin wouldn't have dared to do attack Ukraine if I were president". It sounds stupid, but I think they really think Putin is scared of Trump (and he would keep Russia from invading Poland too) rather than just laughing at him behind his back (which was one point I think played well for Harris).

I think it has more to do with cognitive dissonance and the way Trump manages to talk out of both sides of an issue (see abortion) with a minor in being suckered by culture war issues.

[ex-khobar Andy]

A comment I saw on a Facebook thread:

Rich Bloom
I heard she had Orange Chicken for Dinner last night

I just thought it deserved wider dissemination.

[Big RR]

You may be right CP, but I honestly think some people, even fairly intelligent ones, buy Trump's bullshit, and believe that the chickenhawk will stand tall and get America respected in the world again. Often the culture wars serve as the entry, as do people who have suffered under some current economic conditions, but then all belief and judgment is suspended. I think some Trump supporters do so out of self interest, wanting less taxes and believing all that is needed is to make the government run more efficiently (I have a few friends who fall in this category), but the rabid Trumps supporters just blindly follow what he says, avoiding any serious consideration of where it will lead.

[Burning Petard]

There is 'some' basis' for the story of cats feeding these alien criminals and mental hospital escapees from Haiti in Springfield Ohio.

One person was arrested, accused of eating a cat, in Canton, Ohio. She is a fully American citizen.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-o ... 15124.html

A picture of the arrest was posted online with a headline about Haitians." The posting was by "The Fake News Network"

I wonder if the cat was prepared by a local franchise of that famous Pizza joint in DC with the child sex ring in it's non-existent basement?

snailgate.