these upcoming debates...

If she can sound lucid, useful, decisive, and in line with middle America more than the hard left...she can make gains.

If he...never mind, he's gonna make things up and be a petulant, spoiled, lying pack of crap as usual. We've seen this show often enough by now.

Strangely, even if the most neutral and simple fact-checkers show his inevitable lies in the simplest possible language, his collective doesn't seem to care.

I don't think there will be many swayed, but his determination to stay "personal" even as his own staff practically beg him to focus on issues...it SHOULD say a great deal.

In any case, barring a miracle, those two represent the next major error the American people will be placing into the Oval Office.

purplefaithful wrote:
Are they really going to sway anyone either way? I dont think so. 

Or is this now all about how style points? How well someone does or doesnt debate on camera? 

Are they still even relevant in this day and age??

IMO, debates are still relevant, especially if a candidate or his/her positions are not generally known.  

But, the current debate format does not allow full vetting of opinions or future plans.  For example, the moderator will ask, "what are your plans to reduce inflation", you have 60 seconds for your answer.  That's not enough time to really define a inflation reduction plan so we just get vague generalities.

Flip side, many Americans do not want to hear a detailed discussion and turn away from the debate.  I would love to hear many debates with each targeting a specific issue such as the economy, immigration, energy production to meet future EV goals, etc.

In regards to presentation, I believe is incredibly important.  Does the candidate possess a confident manner?  Do they appear to fully understand the issues and are they persuasive when outlining their plans?  Do they have a history of working with both sides of the aisle demonstrating persuasive skills, finding common ground, and finding common ground solutions.  Team Blue and Red do not play well together and haven't for a long time.

JMO.  I watch debates because I am interested in what the candidates have to say.

Do the debates matter? Hell do the candidates matter? How often do voters cross party lines anynore? I would say the campaign are irrelevant except for maybe 10 to 15% of the voters at the most, likely half that.

IDVikingfan wrote:

IMO, debates are still relevant, especially if a candidate or his/her positions are not generally known.  

But, the current debate format does not allow full vetting of opinions or future plans.  For example, the moderator will ask, "what are your plans to reduce inflation", you have 60 seconds for your answer.  That's not enough time to really define a inflation reduction plan so we just get vague generalities.

Flip side, many Americans do not want to hear a detailed discussion and turn away from the debate.  I would love to hear many debates with each targeting a specific issue such as the economy, immigration, energy production to meet future EV goals, etc.

In regards to presentation, I believe is incredibly important.  Does the candidate possess a confident manner?  Do they appear to fully understand the issues and are they persuasive when outlining their plans?  Do they have a history of working with both sides of the aisle demonstrating persuasive skills, finding common ground, and finding common ground solutions.  Team Blue and Red do not play well together and haven't for a long time.

JMO.  I watch debates because I am interested in what the candidates have to say.

Love that! I think historically there used to be more debates than now???

Here's some guarantees:

Harris will try to claim the post-COVID return to work as a huge employment gain, as opposed to a lift on lockdowns.

Trump will continue to insist that this years were the "best" when statistically they weren't, and will ignore all facts/stats disproving his babble (as he always has).

What's interesting this time: Harris is supposedly working with speech coaches to be less of a vapid waste of space when speaking, whereas "the Donald" is reportedly determined to stay on petulant personal attacks even as his own staff beg him to focus on issues.

Look for tons of half-truths, lies by omission, and distorted accusations by all involved....

I think these debates are meant to be as annoying as possible to drive people away from politics, so that we can ignore it for as long as possible, and vote for one of the two pre-approved candidates on the ballot, and then as quickly as possible go back to forgetting that we voted for the person in charge of screwing us over.

If Biden showed us anything it’s that competency doesn’t matter. There’s a whole team of people that are running the show and the President just does what they need him/her to do. Sign here. Go on stage and read the prompter. If you accidentally read the cues, we’ll have a team of publicists to smooth it over.

The duopoly has already got it’s candidates in place. There’s not going to be a real choice on the ballot.

medaille wrote:
I think these debates are meant to be as annoying as possible to drive people away from politics, so that we can ignore it for as long as possible, and vote for one of the two pre-approved candidates on the ballot, and then as quickly as possible go back to forgetting that we voted for the person in charge of screwing us over.

If Biden showed us anything it’s that competency doesn’t matter. There’s a whole team of people that are running the show and the President just does what they need him/her to do. Sign here. Go on stage and read the prompter. If you accidentally read the cues, we’ll have a team of publicists to smooth it over.

The duopoly has already got it’s candidates in place. There’s not going to be a real choice on the ballot.

I think the duopoly has 1 candidate in place, i dont think the powers that run the system want Trump.

JimmyinSD wrote:

I think the duopoly has 1 candidate in place,  i dont think the powers that run the system want Trump.

Funny thing is...the more I look at it...the truly evil "third party" wants him very much: the media.

Keeping him in place is worth a slew of headlines, clickbait, endless outrage from all sides, and the subject himself cannot keep his pie hole shut...so, it's the gift that keeps on giving!

This is actually one controversial, conspiracy theory I'll throw out there as at least probable.

If most of the media favors the DNC (it does), and wants to keep the GOP cannibalizing and off balance...this tactic couldn't be more effective, could it?

He's rotted the GOP from the inside, it's in a state of civil war, and the whole party is practically threatening the country with the same...making the DNC, despite packs of its own lies, waves of crime, and economic failures, look rational in comparison. Hey, look at that whack-job and his disciples, they won't even respect the election process!

Granted, that was an unforeseen bonus from Trumples and the redcaps, but it's handed the DNC, and the media, buckets of effortless material going into this year.

If someone like Rubio had ever embraced a moderate position, he'd be destroying Kamala right now...as would Haley. Instead, the snarling whacko has been kept in place by the very people that he insists are distorting everything he says.....

Glad to see politics on the back-burner with the candidates today (9/11).

As it should be.

I don't know how close this race will be? I suspect pretty close and decided by 1 or 2 swing state counties.

purplefaithful wrote:
Glad to see politics on the back-burner with the candidates today (9/11).

As it should be.

I don't know how close this race will be? I suspect pretty close and decided by 1 or 2 swing state counties.

its only going to be as close as they allow it to be. there is no way any rational informed tax paying citizen thinks the direction of the country under the biden harris regime is a good choice, no matter how much they may dislike Trump, but I still dont believe that Trump will be declared the winner, there will just be a convenient box or two of ballots found where needed.

JimmyinSD wrote:

its only going to be as close as they allow it to be.  there is no way any rational informed tax paying citizen thinks the direction of the country under the biden harris regime is a good choice,  no matter how much they may dislike Trump,  but I still dont believe that Trump will be declared the winner,  there will just be a convenient box or two of ballots found where needed.

my $ is on another Trump term...

purplefaithful wrote:

my $ is on another Trump term...

honestly... I am still kind of hoping for the hung jury thing where RFKj gets to come out of no where, but there is no way in hell I want another 4 years of what we have now. Its scary to envision our country if it continues on the path it is currently on IMO.

I just dont think the powers that be will allow Trump.

Numerically, I think Trumplestilskin would lose if the election were held today. He's gained essentially no momentum in weeks, maybe months, and his VP went from brief bright moment to an ongoing series of "Vansplainings" regarding his truly dumbass remarks on various versions of childless women and the like.

Trump also managed to look less practiced and comfortable against a near rookie last night, and maybe this should be a BIG SIGN to people in deep denial:

when a constant slew of performers and bands are sending "cease and desist" among other legal actions to keep orange boi from using their music, those are calculated risks from people who typically try and dodge politics. If they're willing to stand up to the felonious Chee-To in front of their whole worldwide fandom and denounce him...they feel like their fandom will forgive them, at the very least.

Hey, I've been honest-I've called the Donald a lyting, narcissistic s**tboi for decades, and I still cannot fathom ANY of his fans/supporters, including those among my friends/family. I actually called his win in 2016 (though I voted for Gary Johnson) because Hillary was another lying sack of s**t with even less charisma.

There's been a LOT of "I can't believe 80 million people voted for Joe Biden" growling among the 2020 denial club, and maybe that's halfway accurate...but, couple the ones that did vote for him with the ones that find Trumplestilskin to be a disgusting, lying, asshat...and you'd find a great many willing to vote AGAINST him. After all, isn't every election year about voting against the other "side" ending the country as we know it?

The felonious dink had best find a new type of damage control, ASAFP, or his "everything's rigged, there'll be blood, I'm gonna get revenge" message will continue to look like the nasty, negative, and frankly stupid platform that it is.

JimmyinSD wrote:

honestly... I am still kind of hoping for the hung jury thing where RFKj gets to come out of no where,  but there is no way in hell I want another 4 years of what we have now.  Its scary to envision our country if it continues on the path it is currently on IMO.

I just dont think the powers that be will allow Trump.

Well I hope they dont lol! 

Harris has a monumental, complex tax to accomplish in a very short time-frame. 

Not predicting Trump will win the popular vote, he'll get in with 1 or 2 electoral swing state wins imo.

purplefaithful wrote:

Well I hope they dont lol! 

Harris has a monumental, complex tax to accomplish in a very short time-frame. 

Not predicting Trump will win the popular vote, he'll get in with 1 or 2 electoral swing state wins imo.

if you think Harris is going to do anything to change the course of this country... well, I am not really sure what to say there, except prepare to be disappointed. 2026 will be this country's 250th birthday and with the path we are on, will there even be anything worth celebrating?

JimmyinSD wrote:

if you think Harris is going to do anything to change the course of this country... well, I am not really sure what to say there, except prepare to be disappointed.  2026 will be this country's 250th birthday and with the path we are on,  will there even be anything worth celebrating?

...yes, because voting the "other way" will END THE COUNTRY!!!!!

(as said by every partisan melodrama enabler in...well, I first remember hearing that about the 1980 election)

She's an unethical, vacuous mess leading a cannibalizing party with whackos and moderates squaring off. We know he's a lying, felonious misogynist who's running a platform of hatred and retribution...because he's a tiny not-quite-man. You can't admit mistakes/failures, you're not really a man...that used to be common knowledge.

Both parties are worse than before, she's a nothing-burger and he's on his last run of cannibalizing the GOP.

I'll lay odds that 2026 will still have America, and plenty to celebrate. Miraculously, 1982 did...!

Zanary wrote:

...yes, because voting the "other way" will END THE COUNTRY!!!!!

(as said by every partisan melodrama enabler in...well, I first remember hearing that about the 1980 election)

She's an unethical, vacuous mess leading a cannibalizing party with whackos and moderates squaring off. We know he's a lying, felonious misogynist who's running a platform of hatred and retribution...because he's a tiny not-quite-man. You can't admit mistakes/failures, you're not really a man...that used to be common knowledge.

Both parties are worse than before, she's a nothing-burger and he's on his last run of cannibalizing the GOP.

I'll lay odds that 2026 will still have America, and plenty to celebrate. Miraculously, 1982 did...!

if you listen to the economists.. they are saying with current trends we are looking at a major recession in the next 24 months, I dont see harris changing anything, in fact I see her handlers putting the pedal down on their kill America agendas and it will only accelerate a major economic collapse. I dont doubt America will still be here, but will anybody be wanting to party, or just more fighting? I wont be surprised to see a lot more unrest this time if the election is a suspect as the last one was.

JimmyinSD wrote:

if you listen to the economists.. they are saying with current trends we are looking at a major recession in the next 24 months,  I dont see harris changing anything,  in fact I see her handlers putting the pedal down on their kill America agendas and it will only accelerate a major economic collapse.  I dont doubt America will still be here,  but will anybody be wanting to party,  or just more fighting?  I wont be surprised to see a lot more unrest this time if the election is a suspect as the last one was.

...it was suspect, largely, because the buffoon who was trying to call governors to "find votes" (what could be more legit?) and whose own appointed judges confirmed what he refused to hear...

...is a spoiled, petulant, s**tty waste of human tissue that is a worse loser than the screaming child who throws the board game up in the air, mid-tantrum. Much worse, because he enabled/encouraged the same mindset in millions of people determined to believe rhetoric even when presented with proof.

He's not the first classless jackass to be a clown about losing an election, but he obviously has taken it furthest, and keeps stoking the redcaps and closer disciples (MTG...watch out for the space lasers!) parroting his babble, and some take it WAY too far...so we get the January 6th debacle, which he's tried to blame on everyone from Pelosi (who's not in the authority tree for Capitol security, that was full-on fictional blather) to Haley (who was completely uninvolved, not in D.C.), and the D.C. Mayor (not in that tree, either). Involving the National Guard is done by the Prez, the SecDef, or the Sec of the Army. TRUMP HAS LIED THE ENTIRE FUGGIN' TIME, AS HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY POINTED OUT.

Do I doubt that individuals, on any/all given sides, may have acted unethically? Hell, no...politics brings out the worst in people. That said, there has been nothing, after many investigations, to suggest that "Fired 45" has been anything other than a horrific, piggish brat willing to add to the country's divisions just for his own ego.

So, do I hate him now more than I did? Oh, hell yes. He's a traitor, all about him, and people keep empowering him to f**k this country to make himself feel a millimeter closer to the illusion of manhood.

Also...no search engine I used, and despite checking news at local and wider levels...

...the "Ohio pet consumption" stack of bulls**t can just be the latest reason that honest people want the orange era of the GOP done with.

Zanary wrote:
Also...no search engine I used, and despite checking news at local and wider levels...

...the "Ohio pet consumption" stack of bulls**t can just be the latest reason that honest people want the orange era of the GOP done with.

Oh for fucks sake, it was a story that was out there and he ran with it, his team should have fact checked to the extent and veracity, but is anybody keeping score, Harris's claims were equally full of holes and half truths, the list of lies and fraulds the left has tried with and tied to Trump ( including legal issues ) is mind boggling.

Its a steaming pile of shit to choose from, but to sit and cry about one repeatedly while largely ignoring the same from the other is truly the definition of TDS.

( and now we get to hear a little negativity towards the opposing side so he can still claim to not favor a side, instead of touting the 3rd party candidates he supposedly supoorts year after year...)