First presidential debate (1 Viewer)

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    Optimus Prime

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    Since we usually have a separate thread for these
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    NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden begins an intense period of private preparations Friday at Camp David for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.

    The 81-year-old Democrat’s team is aware that he cannot afford an underwhelming performance when he faces Republican rival Donald Trump for 90 minutes on live television Thursday night. Biden’s team is expecting aggressive attacks on his physical and mental strength, his record on the economy and immigration and even his family.

    Trump, 78 and ever confident, will stay on the campaign trail before going to his Florida estate next week for two days of private meetings as part of an informal prep process.

    The former president’s allies are pushing him to stay focused on his governing plans, but they’re expecting him to be tested by pointed questions about his unrelenting focus on election fraud, his role in the erosion of abortion rights and his unprecedented legal baggage.

    Thursday’s debate on CNN will be full of firsts, with the potential to reshape the presidential race. Never before in the modern era have two presumptive nominees met on the debate stage so early in the general election season. Never before have two White House contenders faced off at such advanced ages, with widespread questions about their readiness.

    And never before has a general election debate participant been saddled with a felony conviction. The debate-stage meeting comes just two weeks before Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial.

    “You can argue this will be the most important debate, at least in my lifetime,” said Democratic strategist Jim Messina, 54, who managed former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign.

    PRESSURE ON BIDEN


    The ground rules for Thursday’s debate, the first of two scheduled meetings, are unusual.

    The candidates agreed to meet at a CNN studio in Atlanta with no audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted, except when it’s his turn to speak. No props or prewritten notes will be allowed onstage. The candidates will be given only a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

    There will be no opening statements. A coin flip determined that Biden would stand at the podium to the viewer’s right, while Trump would deliver the final closing statement.


    The next debate won’t be until September. Any stumbles Thursday will be hard to erase or replace quickly.………..

     
    They were normal primaries for an incumbent president. There were no shenanigans. Don’t reject the results because you don’t like them.
    I know they were normal, but do you deny that if the party knew what they know today, that he would’ve been challenged by more serious contenders? Do you believe the electorate would’ve chosen differently? I do. It’s not usually the case that an electorate becomes convinced that the candidate can not finish anither term. Has that ever happened?
     
    That’s my point - things have changed. Whether his decline was hidden, or happened recently, we’re in a new situation.
    The decline was obvious at times before this but the company line was always to attribute it to something other than what it appeared to be.

    The debate with Trump blew the cover though; the reality of the side-by-side where you could just tell that one person was operating at a higher level than the other opened the freakin' floodgates for media and politicians to air their grievances over the way it all has been handled.
     
    Perhaps what is in the linked article, but then Clooney attended the fundraiser in Los Angeles and joined others in helping to raise $30 million for the campaign.

    I guess another consideration is all of these people were interacting with Biden prior to the debate and I don’t remember anybody calling on him to step aside. Did they not see concerning signs before then?

    This is what is so confounding. As much as people say Biden was hiding that is just bull. He had an active schedule as POTUS. He did fundraising, he visited swing states, he attended world events, he gave local interviews, he talked to the press sometimes on his way to the helicopter. He hosted events at the WH. He did another event last night at 8:30, I just read. I don’t know what gives.
     
    The decline was obvious at times before this but the company line was always to attribute it to something other than what it appeared to be.

    The debate with Trump blew the cover though; the reality of the side-by-side where you could just tell that one person was operating at a higher level than the other opened the freakin' floodgates for media and politicians to air their grievances over the way it all has been handled.

    There was also this contrast after the debate. You had Warnock, and Newsom trying to defend Biden. Both of which sounded way better then the guy on the debate stage. It was this collective. "Wait, what possessed this guy to run again?"
     
    This is what is so confounding. As much as people say Biden was hiding that is just bull. He had an active schedule as POTUS. He did fundraising, he visited swing states, he attended world events, he gave local interviews, he talked to the press sometimes on his way to the helicopter. He hosted events at the WH. He did another event last night at 8:30, I just read. I don’t know what gives.

    Biden was not that active.

     
    That’s my point - things have changed. Whether his decline was hidden, or happened recently, we’re in a new situation.

    Right. I’m trying to make sense of a possible timeline, which isn’t likely from our vantage point.

    Biden has some more interviews coming up in the next few days and I think if people continue to come away from those concerned, the pressure is likely going to grow too great to ignore. I say that as somebody who also wants to be able to feel more confident about all of this.
     
    Right. I’m trying to make sense of a possible timeline, which isn’t likely from our vantage point.

    Biden has some more interviews coming up in the next few days and I think if people continue to come away from those concerned, the pressure is likely going to grow too great to ignore. I say that as somebody who also wants to be able to feel more confident about all of this.
    I hear you. It’s a bad situation with no great solutions.
     
    I’m talking about his duties as president, which brought him into contact with hundreds of people each week. Take a look at his calendar. It’s known he didn’t want to sit down with the beltway press.

    I'm sure people did meet Joe in this period, and think his cognition was an issue. It was a national topic. I know SFL tried to say the media was hiding it. I linked him 4 articles from major news outlets discussing it before the debate.
     
    This is what is so confounding. As much as people say Biden was hiding that is just bull. He had an active schedule as POTUS. He did fundraising, he visited swing states, he attended world events, he gave local interviews, he talked to the press sometimes on his way to the helicopter. He hosted events at the WH. He did another event last night at 8:30, I just read. I don’t know what gives.

    I don’t think those are getting much attention.

    Fair or not, interviews and press conferences are the only formats I can see making a difference. Speaking engagements and campaign stops just aren’t enough to move the needle right now. I get it. People want to see him thinking on the spot and under some pressure. There’s a reason Trump only does arranged, friendly interviews or else rambles and bull****s his way through any other engagement.
     
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    Biden was not that active.


    She was clearly speaking to his official responsibilities. Do you have information that he hasn’t been engaged in his duties as president? I’d genuinely be interested in that.

    It’s fair to point out his lower media availability but you’re quick to accuse other people of bending information to fit biases. Do you really not see that you do that?
     
    I don't disagree with you, but during the primaries, I at least didn't have concerns about Biden's fitness to serve 4 more years. If the Biden people saw during the debate was evident then, the process may have played out much differently.
    Yeah, but you cannot just throw out the results of valid elections. They happened. The perception among black voters who voice their opinions on Twitter seems to be that their votes are being discarded by rich white men who are trying to force Biden out.
     
    She was clearly speaking to his official responsibilities. Do you have information that he hasn’t been engaged in his duties as president? I’d genuinely be interested in that.

    It’s fair to point out his lower media availability but you’re quick to accuse other people of bending information to fit biases. Do you really not see that you do that?

    It would be hard to gauge because you would have to look at previous presidents. You would have to go back to Obama probably. Trump golfed half of his presidency.

    I know one of the excuses given for his poor performance was back to back European trips. His team admitted though that his debate prep started at 11am, and he was given an afternoon nap as well.

    P.S. We can go down the rabbit hole of are press conferences part of the duties of the president? I'm not sure why you are claiming I'm arguing in bad faith here.
     
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    Yeah, but you cannot just throw out the results of valid elections. They happened. The perception among black voters who voice their opinions on Twitter seems to be that their votes are being discarded by rich white men who are trying to force Biden out.

    As you’ve said, if Biden doesn’t voluntarily step down, there’s not a clear process, that I know of, for replacing him, other than invoking the 25th. On the other side of that, though, is why we’re seeing the public pressure campaign. We agree that might be doing more damage than good, but the lack of other measures at least offers a reason why it’s happening.
     
    It would be hard to gauge because you would have to look at previous presidents. You would have to go back to Obama probably. Trump golfed half of his presidency.

    I know one of the excuses given for his poor performance was back to back European trips. His team admitted though that his debate prep started at 11am, and he was given an afternoon nap as well.

    It was widely reported that Trump didn’t start his day until late morning or noon. I think it was Reagan who generally stopped working in the early evenings. None of that is unprecedented. It’s a demanding job but I’ve come to realize it’s not a one size approach like I’d previously imagined.

    I think if Biden wasn’t doing his job and wasn’t available to people in government, we’d have heard about that. That kind of stuff doesn’t stay secret in D.C., the job is too high profile.

    There have been a number of reports talking about how sharp and engaged he is in meetings. I’d say that all we really know is it’s a muddied picture of whatever is going on.
     
    It was widely reported that Trump didn’t start his day until late morning or noon. I think it was Reagan who generally stopped working in the early evenings. None of that is unprecedented. It’s a demanding job but I’ve come to realize it’s not a one size approach like I’d previously imagined.

    I think if Biden wasn’t doing his job and wasn’t available to people in government, we’d have heard about that. That kind of stuff doesn’t stay secret in D.C., the job is too high profile.

    There have been a number of reports talking about how sharp and engaged he is in meetings. I’d say that all we really know is it’s a muddied picture of whatever is going on.

    Least amount of interviews, doesn't start the day till 11am, takes an afternoon nap. This doesn't paint the picture of what MT15 called a full schedule.

    We can agree to disagree. I would stop short of claiming I'm arguing in bad faith though.
     

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