"A Hot Mess Inside a Dumpster Fire Inside a Train Wreck"
For the past 36 hours or so just about every pundit, columnist, newscaster and political creatures both insightful and ignominious have offered up their thoughts and opinions on the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden. Predictably, the Fox/Breitbart/National Review crowd found the president’s performance to be on a par with anything they’d ever heard or witnessed, and firmly believed that he had wiped up the debate floor with the former Vice President’s entrails. Likewise, much of the CNN/MSNBC/Daily Kos assembly awarded high marks for Biden’s clarity, and strength of character in standing up to - and making short shrift of - the Bully of Mar-a-Lago. Depending on which political bunker you were hunkered down in, moderator Chris Wallace was either found to be a traitor to the conservative right, a hero, or a fellow doing the best he could under the most trying of circumstances. Few if any Republican office-holders or seekers had any comments to make about the manner in which their leader disported himself. That few - if any - found anything objectionable in his unsportsmanlike, serial abuse of his opponent, speaks volumes. And while the former veep’s overall game plan won’t cause anyone to confuse him with the likes of FDR or Barack Obama, he did manage to stand his ground and maintain a strong-willed, if gentlemanly civility.
I came away from the 90 minute debacle with two immediate thoughts:
There was but one person possessing presidential mien on the dais, and
Einstein was absolutely correct when he wrote that “politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity.” (Then too, in a time when some rely on science and others scoff and mistrust it, one remembers another of his tongue-in-cheek bon mots: “Politics is more difficult than physics.”
Asked what he thought about the first debate, CNN’s Jake Tapper replied “It was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck.” His colleague, Dana Bash had even sharper words: ““I’m just going to say it like it is. That was a s--- show.” Finally, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, a previous primary debate moderator, said “As one who has watched presidential debates for more than 40 years, that was the worst presidential debate I have ever seen.”
Regardless of whom one thinks won the debate, two things are crystal clear:
The biggest losers of the night were the American people. I cannot imagine what it must have seemed like to people watching the debate in Europe, South America, Asia and other former allies of the United States.
While the pundits zeroed in on Trump’s constant interrupting and talking over Biden and debate moderator Chris Wallace’s inability to gain control over the night, one moment in particular caused extreme distress for several commentators: Trump telling the far-right Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when asked by Wallace whether he would denounce white supremacists.
Over the past 20 or so hours, there have been responses to this debacle ranging from rewriting debate rules to include the use of a “kill switch,” by which the monitor can cut off the mic of a participant if he keeps interrupting his opponent, and up-to-the-minute notifications of lies being told. In the first-night debate, both sides uttered untruths or mendacious exaggerations. The president, of course has, by far, the worst track record when it comes to straying from the truth.
As we get closer and closer to November 3, there’s only a tiny percentage of the American voting public who have yet to make up their mind as to whom they’re voting for. This 4-5% of the voting public is the group that Republicans and Democrats are most interested in impressing and winning over. Otherwise, all the speeches, commercials, placards, bumper stickers and interviews are directed towards the so-called “base” — those who will, without question, vote for the Democrat or the Republican. With the way polling has been going for the past several months, it is Donald Trump who is most in need of expanding his base to include suburban women, African Americans and white college graduates. Last night’s performance would lead one to believe that he simply does not care about adding new voters to his base. He is so afraid of losing even a single vote from his base, that he cannot bring himself to put a “STOP!” sign in front of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, members of Q-anon and Proud Boys. Indeed, this is frightening stuff.
Then too, during the last moments of the debate, a question was posed as to whether the candidates would accept the election’s outcome regardless of whether they won or not. Joe Biden quickly and unequivocally announced that indeed, he would. By comparison, POTUS refused; in his world, the only licit election is one he wins. Should he lose, he will declare that it was either rigged or stolen.
As of this morning, it would appear that regardless of what Trump’s marching and chowder society says, he was the clear loser. Overnight polls show that he has dropped more than 5% among all voters. At the moment, he is down by more than 9 points; not a particularly comfortable place to be. I’ve been thinking over whether or not Joe Biden and his Democratic advisors and campaign staff should drop out of the debate schedule due to the president’s utterly atrocious behavior. I have concluded that the debates should continue. Uncle Joe has shown himself a capable man who does not let his opponent turn him into a hypertensive idiot. He is well controlled, possesses a guilt-edged smile and knows how to speak directly to the camera . . . to where American voters live, work and struggle.
Is Joe Biden the second coming of FDR, JFK or Barack Obama? No, he is not. What he is is a gentleman with a phenomenal track record, a thorough knowledge of the issues and governance, and a genuine love of people.
After nearly 4 years of bombast, lies and near lethal egotism, who could ask for anything more?
There are 33 days until November 3. Mail in you ballot today!
Copyright©2020 Kurt F. Stone