I never finished the post you responded to. I was in the middle of a sentence and was reminded that I was late for a family meeting. I sent it mid sentence. I have edited it somewhat to make the last sentence coherent.
I thought the moderators were quite good and was surprised considering CNN hosted the debate. A lot of conservatives were concerned they would heavily tilt the playing field to Biden. There was also a concern about the format and no audience and that it was set up that way to benefit Biden. I thought the format actually helped Trump because he had to be more disciplined than he usually is.
As far as the mudslinging goes I didn’t see much out of the ordinary. In two minutes you can’t really give an indepth answer so you are put in the position of making effective sound bites and getting in zingers. Trump got in a few zingers. He did deflect on a number of questions and I actually think it helped him. He pivoted back to Biden’s responses to offer rebuttal and then would give a short non-answer as an answer. A few of the questions he didn’t answer were questions that weren’t going to help him. What he did is constantly compare his record to Biden’s and when pressed by the moderators to answer a question he said as little as possible, or used his answer to attack Biden. What he had to do was remind everybody that he had a good record on foreign affairs, the border, and the economy and remind everybody else Biden has a terrible record on those issues. Everythig else is peripheral to most voters so the best strategy is to spend very little time on those questions and pivot back to the major issues.
There is very little depth a debater can give about how they will do something in a two minute answer to a question. In a one minute response there is even less they can do. In a two minute closing statement you can’t say much. Trump did what he needed to do. He contrasted himself to Biden. Biden came off befuddled and old.
Debates are almost never about substance. They are about impressions. Trump didn’t hurt himself with undecided voters and Biden was a trainwreck and the Democrat Party would love to talk him into stepping down. Right now they can’t really oust him per their party rules. He is already the presumptive nominee because he effectively secured the nomination in terms of delegates pledged based on the primaries. He is going to have to leave voluntarily and right now he says he won’t, In fact he is now saying he wants another debate in September. If I was Trump I would agree to it but would set parameters Biden likely won’t agree to. Trump has nothing to gain from another debate. It is like scoring a KO in a fight and then giving your opponent a rematch. If Biden actually runs all Trump has to do is remain disciplined and somehow stay out of jail. The real kicker is everything could change if he is sentenced to prison. Maybe the Democrats are counting on Trump being imprisoned at this point because most think Biden’s re-election chances are slim.
So how do Democrats get rid of Biden? Maybe the Democrats will try to use the 25th amendment to get rid of him. This is what it says:
Section 4 . Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide , transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. [Emphasis added.]
The problem they would then have is that Kamala Harris would become acting president and I assume she would try to secure the nomination and Harris is unelectable. She is very unlikable and a terrible communicator.Then they would have a convention fight between her and somebody else. If Newsom gets the nomination I would be worried. He is a young, fairly good looking guy, just the type to sway ignorant voters. He would be a train wreck every bit as big as Biden. Just look at California and you would get an idea of how he would govern. I would also be worried about Michelle Obama. In some respects I hope Biden makes it to election day and gets voted out provided the country can survive another almost seven months with him in office.
A problem with Biden remaining president is the weakness and incompetence he projects to the rest of the world. If our enemies perceive he is going to get voted out in favor of Trump they are far more likely to take liberties while he is still in office. I am divided on whether I would like to see him step down for the good of the country or stay in office so he can be voted out. If he leaves now it is more likely we will get four more years of a Democrat president. I really don’t think Biden has ever made any key decisions on policy. I think people behind him are pulling the strings. I don’t think anything changing in policy or culture if another Democrat is elected in his place. Maybe somebody like Joe Manchin would be acceptable but he has left the party because their party is off the rails.
