First presidential debate (4 Viewers)

[Optimus Prime]

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.………..

How Biden and Trump are taking very different approaches to preparing for next week's debate

President Joe Biden is beginning an intense period of private debate preparations at Camp David. His trip comes as officials in both parties scramble to set expectations for what may be the most consequential presidential debate in decades.

apnews.com

 

[faceman]

Yeah, I'm not seeing it either. MAGA people are going to vote for Trump even if he murders a child, and people like me are voting for Biden even if things like last night happened. So we're talking about independents and undecideds, and the polls show their main concern is age. Not only did they not put that issue to rest - they amplified it. I can't imagine any reality in which that's what the Biden campaign intended.

I feel the same,but I feel a tad more confident than you I believe. Biden screwed the pooch last night. There is no easier way to put
it. Saying he had a cold won't cut it. That said, I believe women will decide this vote. A majority doesn''t want christian nationalist
men telling them what they can do with their body. I also believe enough men feel the same way to ensure Trump loses.

 

[not2rich]

I feel the same,but I feel a tad more confident than you I believe. Biden screwed the pooch last night. There is no easier way to put
it. Saying he had a cold won't cut it. That said, I believe women will decide this vote. A majority doesn''t want christian nationalist
men telling them what they can do with their body. I also believe enough men feel the same way to ensure Trump loses.

I hope you're right, and I'll do my small part, but I know plenty of women who voted for Trump before and will do so again. The Dobbs decision, misogyny, felony conviction... doesn't seem to matter.

 

[el caliente]

What the hell does that mean?

If it makes you feel any better I’ve been told that I’m voting/supporting Trump.

Don’t read too much into what you are being accused of.

 

[LA - L.A.]

What you're overlooking, though, is that it's not just about one debate.

I'm not overlooking that at all. That's the exact reason I'm not overly concerned about that one debate.

The primary concern of persuadable voters about Biden is his age.

Says who? Political pundits, focus groups and polls that have been historically inaccurate lately?

Yeah, Trump's only 3 years younger, but people don't perceive his age as a problem.

Okay, but the same polls that say people are worried about Biden's age also show that people are just as worried about Trump's dishonesty and corruption. For some reason, those numbers don't get reported as much as the one's regarding Biden's age.

The debate pretty clearly brought Biden's age issue front and center in the most negative way possible.

And it very clearly brought Trump's lying an corruption front and center in the most negative way possible.

Regarding your contention that it's impossible to switch horses now, I think you have good points, but I don't know that I agree with the conclusion.

It's not my contention or conclusion you're disagreeing with. It's the contention and conclusion of the best and most successful presidential campaign managers. Have you noticed that none of the people talking into a camera about replacing Biden have that expertise and experience.

People know that the news media intentionally creates drama, tension and controversy, because it makes them more money, yet people still keep falling for it when they do it.

Here's the thing: There are a LOT of people who dislike Trump and just need a good enough reason to vote for someone else... anyone else.

And almost all of those people will end up voting for whoever is the name next to Democrat on the ballot, even if it's Biden.

Sarah Longwell on The Bulwark podcast made a case for a Shapiro and Whitmer ticket.

Okay. A lot of people are wishcasting right now. Sarah Longwell's fighting for clicks to make money, so she needs to offer a unique angle. As far as I know, Sarah Longwell has zero campaign management experience.

Did she cite a single campaign manager that said her idea was logistically feasible. Presidential campaigns don't just magically happen because someone wants them to happen. It's a monumental undertaking that takes a lot of planning, organizing and implementing.

I get it that people don't understand that, because it's all done out of public view. Once you see what's involved you understand how it's just not feasible. Sure, the candidates may be likeable, but that's not nearly enough to win a presidential election.

Here's where I am. If Biden is incapable of turning this around and him losing to Trump is, fundamentally, inevitable, we may as well go with some Plan B.

That's something we can never actually know before the election. Polling is unreliable, so we're all flying blind. I think that's why so many are fear based outraging at Biden's performance last night. We're all understandably anxious and fearful, even the Trump supporters. Their false bravado is just that, false bravado.

 

[LA - L.A.]

What the hell does that mean?

What I meant was I get why we see this differently, because I know we have different views on age and aging.

I was referring to the lengthy and in depth discussion about our views on age and aging we had a while back.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Maybe some people are panicking about the polls, but I think he's misreading why they're panicking.

I think they're inseparable. I don't think people would be panicking about last night's performance if polls were showing Biden with a lead.

The panicking is because we all saw the same debate and that did nothing to inspire anyone's confidence.

Obviously, we didn't all have the same reaction to what we all saw.

I still have confidence in Biden's ability to be a hands down better president than Trump. It's sort of like that joke about the bear chasing two people, Biden doesn't have the be the best president ever, he just has to be better than Trump and Biden is hands down a better option for president than Trump.

Am I ever going to nominate him for Toastmaster of the Year? Absolutely not. Am I under the mistaken impression that a person has to be a good public speaker to be a good president or that being a good public speaker means someone will be a good president? Absolutely not.

Trump is a fluent BS'er and a horrible president. Biden is a bad public speaker and a good president. What more evidence is needed?

That debate at minimum should make you question whether he's actually fit to be President 5 more years.

That's your opinion. It doesn't have to be anyone else's and it's subjective. I understand that presidents aren't lone wolf superheros. Everything they do is a group effort. Biden still has my unquestioned confidence that he can put together and strong team and work with them for the next 5 years.

Anyone can die or be disabled by health issues at any time. Nothing is guaranteed and certainty is an illusion that doesn't exist. If people didn't learn that from COVID then they never will. I don't vote based on who I think is "certain" to be able to last 5 years. I vote based on who right now that's on the ballot would I prefer to be president for the next 5 years. I don't have any doubts that Biden is the one I'd prefer.I think they're inseparable. I don't think people would be panicking about last night's performance if polls were showing Biden with a lead.

If he doesn't make it the full 5 years, I have full confidence in Harris and the assembled to do a good job in Biden's place. By the way, I think Trump is already unfit emotionally and neurologically. I also think Trump's going to die before Biden and unexpectedly. He has a very unhealthy lifestyle, is more physically unfit than Biden despite appearances, and is not getting good medical care because of his delusions of grandeur and no one around him being brave enough to tell him the truth.

I'm gonna vote for Biden, but I'm not exactly feeling confident about it.

I understand and appreciate why you don't feel confident. I wish you could feel confident about voting for him when you do. Your vote for Biden will still count, even though you don't feel confident. To save our society and democracy, people don't need to feel confident about voting for Biden, they just need to vote for him to protect and preserve our society and democracy.

My impression is that you are voting for Biden because your fear of Trump winning outweighs your lack of confidence in Biden. I think that as people start actually voting, in that rubber meets the road moment when they are filling in their ballot, the majority of voters in the needed states will get out and vote for Biden, because they fear Trump more than they doubt Biden.

Fingers crossed that will be the truth for the majority of voters, even if it's a very slim majority.

 

[faceman]

I hope you're right, and I'll do my small part, but I know plenty of women who voted for Trump before and will do so again. The Dobbs decision, misogyny, felony conviction... doesn't seem to matter.

I'll give you this. It was the college educated women who prevented Herchel Walker from becoming a U.S. Senator in Georgia. I
believe those same women will keep Georgia blue in 2024

 

[LA - L.A.]

A bear is chasing Peter and Paul. Peter says, "I don't think we're faster than the bear." Paul says, "I don't have to be faster than the bear, I just have to be faster than you."

Those of us who either want Biden to win or Trump to lose, we need to stop comparing Biden to an ideal standard.

Biden is not running against an ideal standard, he's running against Trump. Biden should only be compared to Trump. Biden doesn't have to be as good as the ideal standard, he just has to be better than Trump.

Biden is a better choice than Trump without question. Even if we know Biden will have to step down two months into his presidency and Harris becomes president, that's still hands down better than Trump as president.

The president and vice president run on a ticket. They're a package deal. Don't think of it as voting for Biden, think of it as voting for the Biden-Harris package as opposed to voting for the Trump-(hasn't been announced) package.

 

[SamAndreas]

I'm not following your thinking.

As I understand it, Biden's camp wanted this debate to (1) neuter the "he's senile" narrative, and (2) contrast him with Trump to make it about Trump being "unfit."

Do you think either goal was accomplished? Biden looked old, sounded old, lost his train of thought multiple times, said he "beat Medicare" for crying out loud, and was completely ineffective in calling out Trump's predictable, constant lying. Trump said a bunch of lies and plenty of gibberish of his own, but from a standpoint of how he "projected" to an audience, he clearly won.

Nothing changed for me, because based on my priorities, I'd vote for one of my dogs to be President over Trump. But Biden's performance was a complete debacle and there's no way to sugarcoat it. If you see it differently, I need you to explain it to me, because I'd love to be positive about what happened last night.

Biden put on goth makeup to make himself look 100, and adopted a facial expression which made him look confused. But then a few hours later he had a rally which had him enthusing the crowd, looking and sounding quite fit and mentally able.

I know what he's doing, it's effective for countering someone who is using a gaslighting con to discredit him.

Biden depicted himself exactly like what the Criminal has been gaslighting him to be. There it was for everyone to see. But then he goes to another rally after traveling to another state and miraculously looks fit and sane.

During the debate what Biden actually said was truthful for the most part. What the Criminal said was mostly bald faced lies, and sounded insane. Biden merely wore makeup to make him look really old, and he talked fast, put on a face that made him look really old and decrepit, just like what the Criminal says he's like.

The Criminal wears makeup to make himself Orange. And he wears his hair weird. It's part of his act. The Criminal's mainstay is when threatened he throws an indecent wall eyed fit. The kind of hissy fit that would make most people feel weird.

That's an old ploy which is very effective at making most people back off. The only kind of people who can pull that off have little or no inhibitions.

The Criminal can ask people to give him their first born, he can ask that like he has a right to that person's first newborn. Only an insane person is able to pull that kind of ploy off. It's old magic and it works, the Criminal has stolen millions if not Billions using that ploy.

It's old hat for conmen going way back into history. The Criminal is very talented. But it's old hat, nothing new. Biden knows how to deal with it.

 

[SamAndreas]

There's a 0% chance that Biden threw that debate on purpose. 0.

Look at some recent photos. Biden clearly did that on purpose using make up like the Criminal uses makeup to look goofy, and Orange.

Except Biden used his stage makeup so that he would look like he's at death's door. And then after the debate he stripped that makeup off and did a rally in another state, in South Carolina, like as if he's fit and quite mentally capable. Because he is capable and fit.

Don't worry it will work to discredit that gaslighting conman Criminal. Usual normal methods of communication don't work on the Criminal.

 

[SamAndreas]

Maybe some people are panicking about the polls, but I think he's misreading why they're panicking. The panicking is because we all saw the same debate and that did nothing to inspire anyone's confidence. That debate at minimum should make you question whether he's actually fit to be President 5 more years.

I'm gonna vote for Biden, but I'm not exactly feeling confident about it.

It's good that you are going to vote for Biden.

 

[SamAndreas]

I'm not overlooking that at all. That's the exact reason I'm not overly concerned about that one debate.


Says who? Political pundits, focus groups and polls that have been historically inaccurate lately?


Okay, but the same polls that say people are worried about Biden's age also show that people are just as worried about Trump's dishonesty and corruption. For some reason, those numbers don't get reported as much as the one's regarding Biden's age.


And it very clearly brought Trump's lying an corruption front and center in the most negative way possible.


It's not my contention or conclusion you're disagreeing with. It's the contention and conclusion of the best and most successful presidential campaign managers. Have you noticed that none of the people talking into a camera about replacing Biden have that expertise and experience.

People know that the news media intentionally creates drama, tension and controversy, because it makes them more money, yet people still keep falling for it when they do it.


And almost all of those people will end up voting for whoever is the name next to Democrat on the ballot, even if it's Biden.

Okay. A lot of people are wishcasting right now. Sarah Longwell's fighting for clicks to make money, so she needs to offer a unique angle. As far as I know, Sarah Longwell has zero campaign management experience.

Did she cite a single campaign manager that said her idea was logistically feasible. Presidential campaigns don't just magically happen because someone wants them to happen. It's a monumental undertaking that takes a lot of planning, organizing and implementing.

I get it that people don't understand that, because it's all done out of public view. Once you see what's involved you understand how it's just not feasible. Sure, the candidates may be likeable, but that's not nearly enough to win a presidential election.



That's something we can never actually know before the election. Polling is unreliable, so we're all flying blind. I think that's why so many are fear based outraging at Biden's performance last night. We're all understandably anxious and fearful, even the Trump supporters. Their false bravado is just that, false bravado.

That's a good post. Keep your spirit focused upward and forward. This will work out.

 

[t_rav_82]

Look at some recent photos. Biden clearly did that on purpose using make up like the Criminal uses makeup to look goofy, and Orange.

Except Biden used his stage makeup so that he would look like he's at death's door. And then after the debate he stripped that makeup off and did a rally in another state, in South Carolina, like as if he's fit and quite mentally capable. Because he is capable and fit.

Don't worry it will work to discredit that gaslighting conman Criminal. Usual normal methods of communication don't work on the Criminal.

I don’t know what you’re taking but please share. I want some.

To me the idea that Biden threw the debate as some way of luring trump into a trap of overconfidence makes less sense than chem trails.

 

[SamAndreas]

Thank you. I only have this to add in support of what you said.

Opinion: I’m a champion debate coach. Here’s how Biden and Trump scored | CNN

How did Biden and Trump perform in key debate areas of substance and presentation? Champion debate coach, Todd Graham, grades the presidential candidates.

www.cnn.com

The debate was a loss for both, unless one is full subscribed to the dynamics of the cult of personality.

I personally will choose an honest unpolished public speaker over a lying, corrupt and self-serving smooth talker. I hope the majority of voters think the same way.

There has to be a debate for a debate coach to score it. Last night wasn't a debate, it was a food fight. So this article is well intended, but it's moot.

 

[SamAndreas]

I don’t know what you’re taking but please share. I want some.

To me the idea that Biden threw the debate as some way of luring trump into a trap of overconfidence makes less sense than chem trails.

I didn't say that this was a trap of overconfidence.

Did you ever hear fight fire with fire? This is a case of that.

 

[LA - L.A.]

There has to be a debate for a debate coach to score it. Last night wasn't a debate, it was a food fight. So this article is well intended, but it's moot.

Yeah, every time the "champion college debater" or "champion college debate coach" credential is used as some authority of expertise on who won or loss a debate it cracks me up.

I was a champion college debater, it's not a rare or significant credential at all. I quoted that article, because he makes the point which too many people seem oblivious to. Being a smooth talking liar is not a positive or good thing in any way, especially for a president. If Trump sounded and looked fit to be president to someone, then that someone has serious messed up values, priorities, and/or judgment.

You know who else was a smooth talking charmer? Ted Bundy, that's who. Who thinks he would have been a good president? No one, that's who. The only major difference between Trump and Bundy, is that Trump hasn't killed anyone...yet...as far as we know.

 

[LA - L.A.]

...And then after the debate he stripped that makeup off and did a rally in another state, in South Carolina, like as if he's fit and quite mentally capable. Because he is capable and fit...

I thought he did that rally on Friday. If he did that rally after the debate, then something odd was up.

It completely dispels the dementia BS, because people with dementia progressively fade as the day goes on, known as sundowning, and they don't ever get a second wind late in the evening like that. And no, there aren't any drugs that can help someone with dementia do that.

 

[samiam5211]

More cries of wolf from a a self-admitted cynic who doesn't think everyone should have the right to vote or a say in the government and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about anything.

Of course someone like you is going to cry that Biden is done. Fortunately, your opinion won't be the deciding factor on that. You're not a typical representation of how and what the majority of people think. You're an outlier.

You sure did say “you” a lot in that post.