I just can't help responding to the Trump/Clinton Debate as it was just so odd. In my 48 years of watching presidential debates, I have never seen anything like it.
Right after the debate, Trump tweeted that the Moderator was very good and that he (Trump) had clearly won. Then, after a few hours, Trump learned that he had not done so well in the debate, and suddenly the Moderator was merely "OK". The next day, when the first polls came out showing that Trump had lost the debate in the opinion of the viewing public, he decided that the Moderator had been really tricky and against him personally.
Since when does the Moderator's performance change over time as one's ratings of the debate performance go down and it is not your fault?
I'm not claiming that Trump lost the debate because polls said so. I'm not claiming that Trump lost the debate because CNN said so. I'm claiming that Trump lost the debate because even Fox News admits it!
And it gets worse for Trump. He jumped at a Clinton suggestion that Trump paid no taxes like most of us have to, saying "I'm smart not to". Well, maybe that is good for his business, but it means he can't claim to support our military forces, our economy, or domestic security groups.
He lost the rest of the debate by constantly making snide remarks during Clinton's turn to speak and insulting groups of voters in his turn to speak.
Then he attacked a former Miss Universe ( a business he controlled at the time) saying she was "too fat". Have you seen pictures? She was as forced-self-starved as all beauty-pageant contestants are. As I understand it, she gained a few pounds after the contest, and that was probably good for her health.
And Trump couldn't let it go about her. I tweeted several times after midnight to dawn about her. Really? How wants a President how fixates on irrelevant issues in the middle of the night?
Trump claimed that "polls" suggested he won. Yeah, those were the kinds of online surveys where people can set up their computer to vote repeatedly. The real polls, conducted by professionals say he lost the debate about 55% to 25% (the rest unsure).
I wish Trump would discuss some details of his plans to defeat ISIS, solve US poverty, reduce crime in cities, and apportion our tax dollars among problems like infrastructure rebuilding, military training and equipment, tax reform, rebuilding the middle class, education, etc. But he just won't discuss those things beyond "I'll Make America Great Again". Good, tell me how you'll do that!
I want to hear details. Blind assurances do not move me. Clinton gives details.
I read an fairly neutral analysis that Trump stated a positive lie every 3 minutes 15 seconds as he spoke (12). They caught Clinton on 1 (about a trade agreement staement). I can accept a few deceptions for "Reasons of State", but a 12 to 1 ratio does not encourage me to support Trump. Most of his lies don't even make sense!
And then there were a couple interviews with the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson. What a sad joke. He didn't know what or where Aleppo was. And then couldn't name a single world leader he admired. A smarter person, blanking on names might have said he didn't admire any of them. But that wasn't his problem. He actually didn't know any names.
Seriously, *I* could have come up with Merkel, Cameron (only recently out of office), and Hollande, and I don't keep track of foreign leaders (paying more attention to places as nations).
His VP candidate tried to mention former President Vincente Fox of Mexico, but I haven't liked him since he referred to the illegal hispanic migration into the Southern US as "The Reconquista".
So Trump is an unqualified habitual liar and ignorant of world affairs, Johnson is just ignorant and ignorant of world affairs, and Clinton is telented at dealing with world leaders, nuanced and thoughtful.
That's a contest?
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Daffodils, Trash, And Old Electronics
I finally got about 3/4 of the daffodils planted. I have a front yard island bed surrounding the Saucer Magnolia tree and a 3' boulder ...
2 comments:
All of the above, Mark - but apparently there are still millions and millions of people still planning to vote for Trump. Tis a worry!
Megan
Sydney, Australia
Well, some math. The US population is about 315M. About 70% are voting age. That leaves 220M. About half of those are registered to vote. So 110M. Of those, 50% actually vote. So 65M.
Of those, 40% are Democrats, 35% are Republicans, and 10% are Independent or 3rd parties. The other 15% aren't even that identified.
Those 15% really decide elections. They don't follow campaigns, half won't bother to vote, they don't pay attention to speeches, they mostly decide whether or not to vote the day of the election, and no one knows who they will be until after they vote.
Sometimes it's a craps game guessing who will decide to vote. One election, it is young white moms who vote heavily, another it is angry old guys, another, minority groups come out. You never know and that's what drives organized campaigns NUTS!
*I* think this election will bring out white middle class women and latinos to the voting booths, and even THEN it matters whether Republican attempts to restrict non-traditional voters will overcome that.
In a perfect world, everyone would vote, and in that case Democrats would win almost all elections. Not saying that electing Democrats everywhere would be good, just saying that statistally, if everyone could and did vote, Democrats would win most elections in most States...
So that is why revving up the base of both parties is so important and helping voters get to the voting places makes such a difference.
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