whiterock said:
Mothra said:
sombear said:
ScottS said:
sombear said:
Osodecentx said:
whiterock said:
Osodecentx said:
whiterock said:
Osodecentx said:
whiterock said:
Osodecentx said:
whiterock said:
"If I have to decide who is more likely to be truthful, Trump, Mattis, McMaster or Kelly, I'll take the generals.
-Oso
love the faulty premise that generals are not political animals.
there is an old adage amongst retired military officers that "the guys who retire as brigadiers are the warriors," meaning to suggest that they lacked the political acumen to accumulate more stars.
The premise is the generals are more likely to be truthful
You're way too jaded to really believe that.
Let's talk when the generals say Trump won 2020 and pets are eaten in Ohio
If the Generals DON'T say pets are being eaten in Ohio, you can be sure they are playing politics.
Pet eating has always been the issue undecided voters care about, second only to Trump's victory in 2020
It's a sign of the times, a glaring avatar for the chaos and dysfunction facing ordinary people which has been CAUSED by bad policy. It builds on the narrative that Democrats in general and Biden/Harris in particular are not just incompetent but oblivious to the harm they're causing.
And, to top it all off, Muir stuck a knife in ABC's own kidney quoting the city manager's denial of it happening in order to defend Harris. ABC is the functional equivalent of the DNC press office.
Moderate Republicans cannot come to grips with the reality that our campaign opponent is really not Harris but rather the media. The MRs cannot shake the the instinct to accept the constraints and be willing to lose nobly rather than attack the adversaries we have.
It's never Trump's fault
Harris destroyed Trump last night.
ABC was shamefully biased.
How so? She lied through the whole thing. She failed to answer questions on the economy, the border, if people are better off now than 4 years ago, if she is ok with abortion in the 7, 8, and 9th month, and all her flip flopping. The media, who is all democrats, might say she won, but that is not the truth.
He missed countless opportunities and spent far too much time on J6, rehashing 2020, rallies, and eating pets.
True. But for Trump, it was much better than I expected it to be. I suppose that says something about how far the bar has been lowered.
missed opportunities and digressions are demerits, for sure. The more important question is, did he make the big points he needed to make. Seems pretty clear that he did. Trump never clutters main themes with torrents of data, details , plans, etc..... He is not ever going to please a wonk with masterful manipulation of minutiae. But it does speak to one-issue voters and simpler minds. Half of the electorate, remember, has below average intelligence.
I have seen no discussion of Harris's demeanor in the debate. I think it hurt her. Very expressively ridiculing him, incredulous expressions, smiling/laughing at "antics," fairly animated repositioning behind the podium etc..... Perhaps that inadvertently confirmed suspicions many have about how serious she is. To the extent she was trying to show lack of respect....that is not wise for Democrat who are the face of cancel culture.....judging harshly people with whom they disagree. That was almost a rallying cry in 2016 - Hillary's "basket of deplorables" prompting an visceral outburst of "YESSSS" from so many Trump voters. I don't at all think the debate was that kind of moment, but I do think Harris's demeanor was off putting to a lot of independent voters. Just another glib, arrogant, lightweight looking down her nose at someone who they disagreed with.
Trump, by contrast - stolid, scowling, serious, no nonsense demeanor, conveying a sense of exasperation at the ideological nonsense she represents, ideological nonsense which is feeding chaos across a number important policy realms. there are a LOT of voters out there who feel that way, who know they are being fed a quivering pile Democrat BS but are sick & tired of trying nail Jello to a tree. To them, Trump is a handy mallet.
Not trying to say Tuesday night was a big win for Trump or anything like that. But the numbers are pretty clear that she missed as many opportunities as he did, and perhaps did as much self-harm as Trump did. Maybe more with independents. We should get a better glimpse by Fri.
I say this with professional admiration-you are a rationalization machine of the highest order.
You and Trump are missing the point though. Kamala's one job in the debate was to not lose the election, which she could have done by appearing not qualified. She passed that test with flying colors because she did the one thing that no one has been able to do on a debate stage with Donald Trump-she was the alpha. The substance and the procedure are all beside the point. She looked like she could be president by the way she handled herself.
That in no way means she wins the election. She created possibilities with independents and never Trumpers but she did not close the deal, largely based on the points you make. She knows that. But she did everything she needed to do on Tuesday night. Goal accomplished but game on now.
Trump has been a unique politician based in part based on something he understands innately. He never apologizes and he gets away with outrageous things because he knows the news cycle moves on. What is important and outraging to people today is less so tomorrow and forgotten a week from now. Add that to the fact that most persuadable viewers thought Harris did well but she did not convince them to vote for her, his strategy ought to be to just act like the debate never happened. She had a good night but so what.
But his insane need to have the world perceive him as perfect means he has to relitigate and recharacterize the debate. The more the hard right echo chamber amplifies this tactic, the better off Kamala is becuase her good night grows in importance. If I am Trump or a Trump supporter I would quit talking about the debate as soon as I could becuase the narrative is set-she won. Every time you discuss it, she wins again.