You are so right. Biden's "disastrous" performance was the moderators failure to do their job.
First of all, let's call presidential debates what they are. They are press conferences where two (or more) candidates are being at the same time. They are in no way or form any type of "debate."
As a press conference their duty was not just to call out lies, but to present the facts when he did. It should not have been Biden's "job" to call out Trump's lies, but the reporters--but of course they were only moderators asking questions and not being reporters.
Hell's bell's (excuse me) they had the ability to cut off the mikes'' sound, every time Trump was asked and didn't answer in twenty seconds (since they only had two minutes to answer they needed to go to topic) his mic should have been silenced, they should have repeated the question and warned him they had clips of how he had answered in the past..
Yes, Biden could not, and never will be able to match Trump's bluster and obfuscation, and the moderators came prepared to let him do so. Biden was hoarse because he could barely contain his anger and Trump was let free reign to present lie after lie; too many to call out and of course being 81 was not the problem, Trump. left with such reign, would have confused a 21 year old.
Bullshit on the moderators. Biden didn't have a bad night, the so-called moderators handed Trump a club.
I've never liked either Jake Tapper or Dana Bash, or any of the journalists at CNN, even before the lie about Hamas beheading 40 babies after October 7, 2023. Why didn't anyone correct them on the lie?
It looks like everyone has fallen into the trap set by CNN and the other mainstream media outlets. They don’t care about democracy or decency. They only want a show. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad show. Neither candidate did well from what I heard. But, both reinforced what they stood for. I will not be watching any of the debates because they are a complete waste of time and money. It will be up to the voters to get better candidates by voting for them in the primaries. We do have the power to change this. As many have stated on this platform, Project 2025 is a disaster for basic rights if Trump wins. I will never vote for him. Period. The only way the republicans win is if we stay home and give them the victory or if they steal it.
You summarized last nights debate very well. It was indeed a disappointment, but I have to admit, I did not anticipate Biden having a great performance. He is cognitively slow now, had difficulty finding words, completing sentences, he has a tangential thought process. It actually hurt to watch him perform. I was hoping htat family or someone step in and suppot him in moving on with his life, not overwhelming himself with debates and travels and campaigns. His heart might be in the right place but we all need to know when to step aside.
Trump's performance was not a surprise. He is a walking disaster, or runaway trian and it is frightening to see how smoothly lies flow from his tongue. Where did he get the misinformaiton on abortions? S
Unfortunately, he continues to have a large group of followers who will not do any fact checking but hang on to every word that he utters. Pretty scary but true.
Regarding Mr. Tapper, this journalist has proven himself to be dishonest and lacking integrity. I was surprised to see him as a moderator, but not surprised that he did not fact check the former and current president. I've watched him assert with all confidence, lies, the israeli propoganda around mass rapes, child beheadings with no factual data to back his statements. He spoke with such confidence, it was the gospel according to Jake Tapper, and despite the workd learning that these stories were not credible, I've never heard him recant his reports.
I think that we should all hang on for a bumpy ride over the next few months while the Democrats and Republicans come up with a better plan (if they are motivated to do so). The two candidates should be reconsidered, replaced.
Exactly! The first debate was a disaster, but there'll be more debates and President Biden will be back on his game, taking his time to get out his points about his and his administration's accomplishments. In his defense, I think he was forced to speak too quickly during the two-minute time limit both he and Trump were allotted. This isn't TikTok.
Trump is following the Nazi playbook page by page.... is no one noticing?
Repeat lies often enough until people start to believe it..
Replace main stream media w/ propaganda channels
Use a group of people to fear, then hate.
Advocate violence for any opponents
Internment camps for undocumented
Destroy fair courts...
BIDEN prepared for a different debate.....one based on issues.... but had to spend most of his time batting back lie after lie....
Biden can do much better person to person in a relaxed atmosphere.....like a weekly blog.... aka FDR fireside chats to tell Americans about the plans from the exteme right think tanks that are driving reprub politics, and to do some refreshment on American and German history and revive true love of America..... Patriotism
The failure of the hosts allow Trump to not answer any question asked made the whole thing a farce, or worse, a disaster! There was so much time spent looking backwards there was very little about the future goals of either one. It was, in my opinion, a failure of major proportions. My wife, called it a waste of her time. She compared it to listening to the failed Presidential campaign of Xochitl Galvez - all screaming and yelling and no information on the point of running.
Thank you. You summarized the debate only too well; it was embarrassingly disappointing, but frankly not unexpected. Biden needs to withdraw because he is not charismatic enough or articulate enough to win this fight, and it is a fight – – a battle to save democracy. Trump is a flaming idiot, but just clear enough so that our uneducated public will think well of him, especially when many folks do not know the actual facts to the questions posed because of our sloppy journalism and biased, bigoted social media.
It is a travesty that we cannot have an intelligent debate between two people and discuss actual facts with actual evidence behind those facts and debate appropriately and respectfully and share our differences of opinion. Grade school children could do better and would be expected to.
The next question is what to do. Perhaps going on public television or something much bigger than a site such as this (which is wonderful and greatly appreciated) would be the next best step. Somehow, the real answers to the questions posed need to be in bold print and circulated everywhere. Can we do that? And when that is done, there can be no pointing fingers or name-calling. The questions have to be restated, and the answers documented with the evidence behind them.
We get so caught up in the drama that we forget the point of what we’re doing and this is what draws people in to formulate their misguided opinions. We play on emotions instead of looking at facts. It is divisive and destructive, but can be an effective tool as we have seen. Why do seemingly intelligent and educated folks like Trump? We know why we do not, but we also have to understand his appeal. Know your enemy.
Lastly, the Democratic Party has to get off its ass and can continue to think like a democrat, BUT better act like a republican if it wants to get anywhere.
True! We have aspired to be a democracy & were making progress in that direction, but now we're more like a corporatocracy or plutocracy. And if Trump gets back in power, it's anyone's guess whether we'll become an autocracy, aristocracy, theocracy, mafiocracy, kleptocracy, idiocracy, kakistocracy or some combination of them.
Absolutely. I didn't think Biden was too old going in but he looked it last night. Someone said 'He looks great in North Carolina today'. So I asked where was that last night. There is a fraction of people who will see that as saw the debate.
N.C was today and he sounded great. Fired up . I noticed he coughed and to me it sounded like bronchitis. I use to know my kids had it by the cough.. He was off last night for sure and listening to Trump made me dizzy so … I am still a supporter as the magas will still back the me me I am great guy….
As always a terrific letter. But here is how I feel about the main stream pundits, including PBS, in the aftermath of a “show” that probably never should have taken place. I feel insulted! As a public school educated, first generation American, I feel insulted by all these pundits. If we (the audience) can’t tell the difference between - a lier, cheater, failed business man, who as President shredded the oath he took to protect the Constitution and America from enemies foreign and domestic, and fomented a coup on Jan. 6th, and is a wannabe dictator just waiting to dismantle our democracy - and an elder, long serving ‘public servant’ who is probably past his “best by” date - then we deserve what we get. And it will take generations to undo the damage; if we and the Earth survive that long. What was a disheartening, so called debate, is now turning into a shameful and shameless ‘reality show’ by the very pundits who are supposed to be setting the record straight for us! But, of course they haven’t ‘looked out the window’ in so long that they are part of the problem! We should all feel insulted by the entire spectacle and what brought us here. We deserve better. As for Biden; he should have looked straight at the American people and immediately rejected the de-humanization of immigrants for starters. He should have had at the ready facts and figures on each predictable topic and told viewers to go and do their own checking of the claims they heard. He should have looked at and addressed us - not Trump or the vacuous moderators. As for calls for Biden to withdraw - he’s on his own. He said when he won in 2020 he was just a transition. The DNC should then have started positioning several excellent younger, qualified, intelligent and experienced people (there are quite a few) to come forward and present themselves to voters. Too late it seems to me, but after last night who knows what the supposedly smart power brokers will do? Greed, money and its power got us here. How do we find the exit to start to repair and rebuild our very worthy democracy?
I like / agree with most of what you've said BUT We Do Not "deserve what we get"! Why / how do we deserve a dictator, liar, conman, thief, cruel and boorish monster, anti-Constitutionalist and smasher of norms even if Biden is past his "sell by date"?
Those on democracy's side must fight like Hell against Trump & his ilk despite Biden's performance that I hope hope hope was a one-off. (Remember: Trump and/ r Biden can even die or become disabled but there's Trump's rabid followers, leaders, hangers-on and they will still be around.)
I hear you. Forgive me, but I wrote a long reply which somehow didn’t make it here. If I can remember the gist: I meant his supporters would feel the impact if he won, and they would deserve what they got, except that of course, no one deserves Project 2025. He did get 74 million last time! So I wrote we - sorry. But then again, whoever is President is OUR president. I have lived through many who weren’t my choice, but those elections pale in comparison. Though when you think about it those elections were precursors to this one; think Bush - Gore, SCOTUS, McConnell and Congress. Let’s hope we can correct course.
1. The clock was used to verbally cut off Biden -especially mid-sentence.
2. The loss of CNN watchers has been a slippery volcano slope for quite sometime.
3. Was this my imagination that 45 didn't make any derogatory attacks against the media and what is now passing as journalism? This is one of his favorite targets.
4. As Tim Wise stated, this "debate" was more about performance than substance. This was 45's Forte-he is a master marketer. He knows the behavior of people and has zero regard in protocol, policy or procedure.
How does one counter this circus side-show? Indifferent, single word questions. "What? How? Why?". The barker is trying to quickly get out of town - you owe the toll road. Make him pay and not in any funny money or IOUs (the latter will never happen because his narcissism dictates YOU owe him).
5. The diatribe of "golf" was an intentional act; all Biden needed to respond was (looking for at his podium) "So you say..."
You are so right. Biden's "disastrous" performance was the moderators failure to do their job.
First of all, let's call presidential debates what they are. They are press conferences where two (or more) candidates are being at the same time. They are in no way or form any type of "debate."
As a press conference their duty was not just to call out lies, but to present the facts when he did. It should not have been Biden's "job" to call out Trump's lies, but the reporters--but of course they were only moderators asking questions and not being reporters.
Hell's bell's (excuse me) they had the ability to cut off the mikes'' sound, every time Trump was asked and didn't answer in twenty seconds (since they only had two minutes to answer they needed to go to topic) his mic should have been silenced, they should have repeated the question and warned him they had clips of how he had answered in the past..
Yes, Biden could not, and never will be able to match Trump's bluster and obfuscation, and the moderators came prepared to let him do so. Biden was hoarse because he could barely contain his anger and Trump was let free reign to present lie after lie; too many to call out and of course being 81 was not the problem, Trump. left with such reign, would have confused a 21 year old.
Bullshit on the moderators. Biden didn't have a bad night, the so-called moderators handed Trump a club.
How in the hell anyone can in good conscience vote for either of these two criminals is beyond me.
All I Learned From the Debate Was That Biden Is a Better Golfer Than Me https://tinyurl.com/mr2znnjd
You are a liar, and a sad excuse for a journalist. You’re a Jew Hater and a perfect example for why palestinian is a slur.
Very accurate analysis, Qasim! 1 of the best I've seen, heard or read.
Even Snopes, that leftist rag, admitted the "fine people" thing was a lie.
Do you get an extra $5, glowy shitbag?
Why are you such a comical garbage person?
You're the typical unthinking lefty drone. It's ridiculous and disgusting at once.
I've never liked either Jake Tapper or Dana Bash, or any of the journalists at CNN, even before the lie about Hamas beheading 40 babies after October 7, 2023. Why didn't anyone correct them on the lie?
Thank you for this recap.
It looks like everyone has fallen into the trap set by CNN and the other mainstream media outlets. They don’t care about democracy or decency. They only want a show. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad show. Neither candidate did well from what I heard. But, both reinforced what they stood for. I will not be watching any of the debates because they are a complete waste of time and money. It will be up to the voters to get better candidates by voting for them in the primaries. We do have the power to change this. As many have stated on this platform, Project 2025 is a disaster for basic rights if Trump wins. I will never vote for him. Period. The only way the republicans win is if we stay home and give them the victory or if they steal it.
We're not a democracy, stupid.
And there it is. Another one falls for it.
Fell for the fact we're a republic? Try again.
Trying to be nice. But you aren’t having it. Just go away and hide in the corner.
"Trying to be nice" by not having the first clue of our nation. You're just wrong. Basic fact. But go ahead, continue being wrong.
What other stupid shit do you have?
Come on, stupid.
You summarized last nights debate very well. It was indeed a disappointment, but I have to admit, I did not anticipate Biden having a great performance. He is cognitively slow now, had difficulty finding words, completing sentences, he has a tangential thought process. It actually hurt to watch him perform. I was hoping htat family or someone step in and suppot him in moving on with his life, not overwhelming himself with debates and travels and campaigns. His heart might be in the right place but we all need to know when to step aside.
Trump's performance was not a surprise. He is a walking disaster, or runaway trian and it is frightening to see how smoothly lies flow from his tongue. Where did he get the misinformaiton on abortions? S
Unfortunately, he continues to have a large group of followers who will not do any fact checking but hang on to every word that he utters. Pretty scary but true.
Regarding Mr. Tapper, this journalist has proven himself to be dishonest and lacking integrity. I was surprised to see him as a moderator, but not surprised that he did not fact check the former and current president. I've watched him assert with all confidence, lies, the israeli propoganda around mass rapes, child beheadings with no factual data to back his statements. He spoke with such confidence, it was the gospel according to Jake Tapper, and despite the workd learning that these stories were not credible, I've never heard him recant his reports.
I think that we should all hang on for a bumpy ride over the next few months while the Democrats and Republicans come up with a better plan (if they are motivated to do so). The two candidates should be reconsidered, replaced.
Neither of those 2 idiots deserve to be called a journalist.
Exactly! The first debate was a disaster, but there'll be more debates and President Biden will be back on his game, taking his time to get out his points about his and his administration's accomplishments. In his defense, I think he was forced to speak too quickly during the two-minute time limit both he and Trump were allotted. This isn't TikTok.
Ah, Commander-in-chief needs to be woken from his rocking chair and given half an hour to respond.
That's how you run a global superpower.
Trump is following the Nazi playbook page by page.... is no one noticing?
Repeat lies often enough until people start to believe it..
Replace main stream media w/ propaganda channels
Use a group of people to fear, then hate.
Advocate violence for any opponents
Internment camps for undocumented
Destroy fair courts...
BIDEN prepared for a different debate.....one based on issues.... but had to spend most of his time batting back lie after lie....
Biden can do much better person to person in a relaxed atmosphere.....like a weekly blog.... aka FDR fireside chats to tell Americans about the plans from the exteme right think tanks that are driving reprub politics, and to do some refreshment on American and German history and revive true love of America..... Patriotism
Trump is notorious for lying. Biden & his handlers should've been preparing for it.
That's called "projection".
EXACTLY. Thats the number # repub tactic now....
Wow, you're straight up retarded.
The failure of the hosts allow Trump to not answer any question asked made the whole thing a farce, or worse, a disaster! There was so much time spent looking backwards there was very little about the future goals of either one. It was, in my opinion, a failure of major proportions. My wife, called it a waste of her time. She compared it to listening to the failed Presidential campaign of Xochitl Galvez - all screaming and yelling and no information on the point of running.
Thank you. You summarized the debate only too well; it was embarrassingly disappointing, but frankly not unexpected. Biden needs to withdraw because he is not charismatic enough or articulate enough to win this fight, and it is a fight – – a battle to save democracy. Trump is a flaming idiot, but just clear enough so that our uneducated public will think well of him, especially when many folks do not know the actual facts to the questions posed because of our sloppy journalism and biased, bigoted social media.
It is a travesty that we cannot have an intelligent debate between two people and discuss actual facts with actual evidence behind those facts and debate appropriately and respectfully and share our differences of opinion. Grade school children could do better and would be expected to.
The next question is what to do. Perhaps going on public television or something much bigger than a site such as this (which is wonderful and greatly appreciated) would be the next best step. Somehow, the real answers to the questions posed need to be in bold print and circulated everywhere. Can we do that? And when that is done, there can be no pointing fingers or name-calling. The questions have to be restated, and the answers documented with the evidence behind them.
We get so caught up in the drama that we forget the point of what we’re doing and this is what draws people in to formulate their misguided opinions. We play on emotions instead of looking at facts. It is divisive and destructive, but can be an effective tool as we have seen. Why do seemingly intelligent and educated folks like Trump? We know why we do not, but we also have to understand his appeal. Know your enemy.
Lastly, the Democratic Party has to get off its ass and can continue to think like a democrat, BUT better act like a republican if it wants to get anywhere.
We're not a democracy, stupid.
True! We have aspired to be a democracy & were making progress in that direction, but now we're more like a corporatocracy or plutocracy. And if Trump gets back in power, it's anyone's guess whether we'll become an autocracy, aristocracy, theocracy, mafiocracy, kleptocracy, idiocracy, kakistocracy or some combination of them.
We've never aspired to be a democracy, lying retard.
Absolutely. I didn't think Biden was too old going in but he looked it last night. Someone said 'He looks great in North Carolina today'. So I asked where was that last night. There is a fraction of people who will see that as saw the debate.
N.C was today and he sounded great. Fired up . I noticed he coughed and to me it sounded like bronchitis. I use to know my kids had it by the cough.. He was off last night for sure and listening to Trump made me dizzy so … I am still a supporter as the magas will still back the me me I am great guy….
As always a terrific letter. But here is how I feel about the main stream pundits, including PBS, in the aftermath of a “show” that probably never should have taken place. I feel insulted! As a public school educated, first generation American, I feel insulted by all these pundits. If we (the audience) can’t tell the difference between - a lier, cheater, failed business man, who as President shredded the oath he took to protect the Constitution and America from enemies foreign and domestic, and fomented a coup on Jan. 6th, and is a wannabe dictator just waiting to dismantle our democracy - and an elder, long serving ‘public servant’ who is probably past his “best by” date - then we deserve what we get. And it will take generations to undo the damage; if we and the Earth survive that long. What was a disheartening, so called debate, is now turning into a shameful and shameless ‘reality show’ by the very pundits who are supposed to be setting the record straight for us! But, of course they haven’t ‘looked out the window’ in so long that they are part of the problem! We should all feel insulted by the entire spectacle and what brought us here. We deserve better. As for Biden; he should have looked straight at the American people and immediately rejected the de-humanization of immigrants for starters. He should have had at the ready facts and figures on each predictable topic and told viewers to go and do their own checking of the claims they heard. He should have looked at and addressed us - not Trump or the vacuous moderators. As for calls for Biden to withdraw - he’s on his own. He said when he won in 2020 he was just a transition. The DNC should then have started positioning several excellent younger, qualified, intelligent and experienced people (there are quite a few) to come forward and present themselves to voters. Too late it seems to me, but after last night who knows what the supposedly smart power brokers will do? Greed, money and its power got us here. How do we find the exit to start to repair and rebuild our very worthy democracy?
"public school educated"
Stopped reading there.
Good job, drone.
I like / agree with most of what you've said BUT We Do Not "deserve what we get"! Why / how do we deserve a dictator, liar, conman, thief, cruel and boorish monster, anti-Constitutionalist and smasher of norms even if Biden is past his "sell by date"?
Those on democracy's side must fight like Hell against Trump & his ilk despite Biden's performance that I hope hope hope was a one-off. (Remember: Trump and/ r Biden can even die or become disabled but there's Trump's rabid followers, leaders, hangers-on and they will still be around.)
I hear you. Forgive me, but I wrote a long reply which somehow didn’t make it here. If I can remember the gist: I meant his supporters would feel the impact if he won, and they would deserve what they got, except that of course, no one deserves Project 2025. He did get 74 million last time! So I wrote we - sorry. But then again, whoever is President is OUR president. I have lived through many who weren’t my choice, but those elections pale in comparison. Though when you think about it those elections were precursors to this one; think Bush - Gore, SCOTUS, McConnell and Congress. Let’s hope we can correct course.
Absolutely!
1. The clock was used to verbally cut off Biden -especially mid-sentence.
2. The loss of CNN watchers has been a slippery volcano slope for quite sometime.
3. Was this my imagination that 45 didn't make any derogatory attacks against the media and what is now passing as journalism? This is one of his favorite targets.
4. As Tim Wise stated, this "debate" was more about performance than substance. This was 45's Forte-he is a master marketer. He knows the behavior of people and has zero regard in protocol, policy or procedure.
How does one counter this circus side-show? Indifferent, single word questions. "What? How? Why?". The barker is trying to quickly get out of town - you owe the toll road. Make him pay and not in any funny money or IOUs (the latter will never happen because his narcissism dictates YOU owe him).
5. The diatribe of "golf" was an intentional act; all Biden needed to respond was (looking for at his podium) "So you say..."