The Debate - 9/10/2024-2

Well, the big night has come and went. I don't know by how much, but I think the debate will help Harris a little more than Trump. It's late, 11:08 p.m. as I type this, so I'll keep the a little brief, if I can. All candidates exaggerate, distort, spin, and embellish. Neither candidate disappointed in that regard. Luckily for Harris, the moderators were on her side.

Will the Trump Harris debate move the needle? Time will tell.

Kamala Harris: I think she presented herself pretty well, a little better than I expected actually. Some of the faces she made while Trump was talking were a negative, but not to the same degree as Trump's nearly continuous scowl. She called Trump a liar, and meanwhile she herself lied, repeatedly. Project 2025 isn't Trump's. The "bloodbath" thing is way out of context, as is the fine people on both sides hoax. Same goes for the bullshit about suspending the Constitution on Day 1. Her characterization of Trump rallies was inaccurate, aka bullshit. She did much better on Roe than Biden did, as a woman I would have expected same. I think her best moments were when she talked optimistically about the future. She did NOT, however, give me any clarity on how her proposals would be made to work. And she sure does love killing babies. The line about women having miscarriages being refused treatment and juvenile rape victims being forced to keep the baby, as well as the one that Trump will impose a nationwide ban? Absolute, abject bullshit.

Score: 7.5/10

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Donald Trump: This was NOT the former President's best moment. He seemed angry. He is well known by people who see him personally as being congenial and having charisma. He didn't bring enough of that to the debate with him this evening. He missed his best opportunity to tie her directly to covering up Biden's cognitive impairment, as well as her nomination without any votes. Big missed opportunities there. He's a known entity. I don't think his performance will hurt him, but he has less upside than Harris, in my opinion, and he didn't seem to lay claim to much that he didn't already have in hand. He fucked up (again) his answer to the Kamala Harris race question. The right answer would be something like: "I respect Black people, and people of Indian descent. I respect mixed-race people. My criticism is that Vice President Harris is a total chameleon and presents herself as nearly a different person, depending on her audience. In just the last few weeks, we heard a phony southern accent. She changes her ethnicity and accent almost as often as she changes her position on important issues, and for the same reasons, to enjoy the most favorable political breezes she can, sincerity be damned." He could have, but didn't. He left too much on the table, but the bigger issue for me in scoring the debate was his demeanor. He could have displayed at least a little (more) charisma.

Score: 5/10

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ABC News Moderators: Talk about in the tank. The debate often seemed like 3 on 1. They fact checked one participant, but not the other, and the questions seemed softballs, teeing it up for Harris. For an example, knowing Trump's tendencies, they hit him with the Kamala ethnicity question, and they clearly went to her second so she could pound him as divisive. They fact checked ONLY Trump, and at times Muir was literally argumentative with Trump. A debate such as this ought to have either a totally impartial panel, or a mixed panel. If you look at it, Biden in June and Harris in September BOTH had fellow travelers as moderators. The CNN group did MUCH better than this ABC group. I hear it said that that is because CNN's job was to take Biden out, and ABC's to prop Harris up. I don't know that that's true, but someone could certainly see it that way, as do I.

Score: 3/10

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Will it move the needle? Time will tell. I think it could swing it a couple points to Harris, who among undecideds likely has more upside. Minds are mostly made up, almost completely about Trump, and to some lesser (minuscule but lesser) extent about the Vice President.

I could say more, but it's pushing midnight.