Category Archives: Debate

It’s Still the Economy, Stupid

One thing the political polls agree on is the number one concern on the minds of voters. It’s the economy. It is ALWAYS the economy.

The problem, at least for Vice President Harris, is that what voters call the economy is not what economists call the economy. What voters mean when they say economy is prices as in, the price of a gallon of gasoline, the price of a bottle of milk, the price of a dozen eggs. Those prices are up. And as is usual, the incumbent gets the blame.

Read more

Debate #2

I did not rush to write after the second debate of this presidential election season, the first between vice-president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump. I, along with the majority of the debate watchers, was not going to change my voting plans as a result of the ninety-minute session. I tuned in for the spectacle. And, it appears, I had a lot of company. The debate drew an impressive audience of 67.1 million viewers. This was a big increase from the 51.3 million viewers for the first debate, the one between President Joe Biden and Trump.

Read more

The Prosecutor and the Felon

More than a month ago I wrote about the poor performance of President Joe Biden in his June 27th 2024 debate with Donald Trump. Then I put politics aside, frankly, having had enough for a while.

Did I miss anything?

Seriously. If Aaron Sorkin wrote a script describing the events of the last few weeks, nobody would believe it.

Read more

Form and Substance

There is no sugar-coating it. President Joe Biden had a train wreck in his first 2024 debate with Former President Donald Trump. Fifty-one million watched. I wrote that I had concerns because Biden had seemed physically feeble during some appearances in the last year. Right as he walked out on the debate stage, I saw those signs, Biden walking slowly and speaking slowly and in a soft scratchy voice. I did not expect to see him ramble and become incoherent, but he did that more than once. At other times he was clear, combative, and effective, defending his administration and listing his accomplishments. But you could not fail to notice the other moments.

Read more

Debating the Debate

The chattering class had a field day over the weekend pontificating on the presidential debate scheduled for Thursday, June 27, at 9pm ET on CNN. As usual when the Know-It-Alls get together, there was a lot of noise but little substance. I never expected there would be any debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, and I still have a thought that this event might be called off. If not, it should be quite a spectacle, more entertaining than reality TV.

Read more

Civility? I Think Not.

(Supreme Court Justices Sotomayor and Coney speak on, “How to Disagree Agreeably,” Feb. 23, 2024, National Governor’s Association, NGA via YouTube.)

My mother was always an optimist. She was sure that, given time, people could rationalize if not eliminate their disputes. In her vision, people of different races, different religions, and different economic positions could learn to live side by side and she was always correcting me if my big mouth strayed too far from civil discourse.

Read more

Let the Games Begin

Let there be no doubt. The 2024 State of the Union address kicked off the 2024 campaign for president. And it promises to be a raucous race.

I’ve watched many a state of the union in my day. But I’ve never seen one like the third state of the union of President Joe Biden. This was without a doubt a campaign speech. An in-your-face speech directed at the Republicans in Congress, the Republicans at home, and the Republican’s all-but-anointed candidate for president, Donnie Trump. Yes, my friends, it’s deja vu all over again.

Read more
« Older Entries