Debate

 I stopped watching/listening to debates back in the Reagan-Mondale race when, after listening to it on the radio, I concluded that Mondale had won, hands down. Reagan sounded to me like a befuddled old man in the early stages of dementia (IKR?). The next day, all the pundits declared Reagan the winner.

Since then, I would follow live blogs of the debates, sometimes toggling between two blogs, even though Linda was watching it on TV in the attic at the same time. I just realized that my reaction doesn't matter.

In the event, I didn't even stay up for the live blog of this debate, because I knew with Trump on the stage and Chris Wallace from Fox as the pseudo-moderator, the intention wasn't to inform, it was to provide what passes for TV drama. No thanks.

Here's a thoughtful summary of what happened:

https://www.vox.com/2020/9/29/21493926/first-presidential-debate-winners-losers-biden-trump

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 30, 2020 at 10:33 AM

    It really wasn't a 'debate' anyway. Biden tried to stick to the 'rules', but Trump took every opportunity he could to do a verbal version of pushing a world leader into the background so HE would be out-front - interruption after interruption, lies, pouting, the bag of tricks we've come to know so well.
    The talking-heads on CNN said after the debate finished that it was less a debate than it was a shit-show (their actual words - shit-show).
    The 'highlight' was the part where Wallace was trying to force Trump's hand, make him take an actual stance AGAINST white supremacists, and he refused to do it.
    Wallace may not have been the best moderator, but he DID ask some good questions, seemingly designed to show Trump's ignorance, his bigotry, how he followed conspiracy theory. In my mind, Wallace did less FOR Biden than he did TO Trump. Sadly, most of those who support the Tiny-handed Mango-man probably aren't going to change their minds after last night. It's possible some of the 'undecided' folks made up their minds - there was a 'focus-group' segment, where a few professed their decision to vote against Trump after his performance on the debate, but a few of the single-issue voters (who I don't believe had been undecided at all) said they'd been persuaded to vote for Trump. One man actually said, "Biden blamed Trump for all the COVID-19 deaths. That was wrong." Biden didn't say that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joel EissenbergSeptember 30, 2020 at 10:43 AM

    I didn't watch it. I knew what would happen and by the reports I've read, I was right.

    I was not as impressed by Wallace as you were. He utterly failed in his role as moderator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 30, 2020 at 10:56 AM

      I agree, actually. As a moderator, he failed to 'control' the one candidate requiring restraint. I liked his questions, but he should have been part of a panel. There should have been someone else there to dissect Trump's responses. Wallace didn't do that to either candidate.

      Delete

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