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Presidential Debates


Ron Bulman

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I don't remember the first time I saw the first one.  Nixon nervous tired and sweating vs JFK confident and upbeat.  Just the two, three times.

None in 64, 68, 72 per the FCC?  Then a gaffe by Warren Ommisioner Ford in 1976. "There s no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe".

Now we've come to what was it 9 or 11 for one party's debate in the first round?  Iowa was overwhelmed.  I'd be sick of It if I lived there.  No debate on the other side.

I've not watched a debate in many years before tonight.  Surprised somewhat by the contentiousness yet the semi agreement on many issues and the emphasis on beating the current occupant.   I was also surprised to hear the issue of citizens united brought up.  Hard to pick a leader there that can win.  Not an endorsement on my part but Warren did go off on CU and has a position.

http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/debatehistory2.html

 https://endcitizensunited.org/press-releases/end-citizens-united-endorses-senator-elizabeth-warren-re-election/ 

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33 minutes ago, Ron Bulman said:

I've not watched a debate in many years before tonight. 

I haven't watched a debate since the days of Walter Mondale, when I was yet young.  I ought to, but I rely on the press consensus and the round-up of incriminatory soundbites. 

I should have taken the trouble to watch Trump orate against Hillary; but later, on election night,  after voting for neither, I went to bed thinking the inevitable wasn't possible. 

Still, I mean, Jesus Christ, Walter Mondale!

Edited by David Andrews
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James Carville

If Bernie is the nominee, I’ll vote for him. No question. I’ll take an ideological fanatic over a career criminal any day. But he’s not a Democrat.

Yes, "career criminal" trumps all other disqualifying negatives by far.

However I disagree with Carville's trademark shock hyper-bole labeling of Bernie Sanders as a fanatic.

Sanders proposals basically just reflect the much more entire society benefiting government policies of the top 25 standard of living industrial countries of the world.

Where the general welfare of "all" their citizens isn't hugely second to the first priority welfare of a small minority of our most wealthy, where just 5 to 10% of our society owns 85% of our wealth and exerts that same degree of imbalance of power influence over the rest of us.

The proof of this fact is in credible documented statistics which for many years, even decades, show America being well behind these other social/democracy model countries in even the most basic and important standard of living areas and measurements.

Health care, education, housing, transportation, cost of living, income disparity, retirement care, child and just delivered mother care, infrastructure, opioid and drug treatment, incarceration overload and on and on.

Carville depicts someone looking at the rest of the majority of the world's best standard of living countries, that take care of their entire citizenries better than we do, and who states and promotes the most logical common sense proposals ( why can't we do or even "try" to do the same? ) and calls them a fanatic?

Carville has always had kind of a "shock jock" showman's performance proclivity.

Lacing his commentary with more profanities ( however comedic in context ) than any other supposedly serious political pundits.

I wonder if this is perhaps simply to stand out as a more colorful character and get more attention and coverage in the press?

He's right in many of his observations however and I agree with them.

But imo he's not helping the cause of Trump defeating by disparaging the Dem candidates we have, no matter how cheap laugh profane comedy toned his commentaries on them and their fu##ing flaws are.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Joe Bauer
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Gee whillikers, now I'll have to go watch the New Hampshire debate! I'm a Sanders supporter. And a JFK supporter. Mr. Santos, care to elaborate? What was stated as being JFK's position on Castro? Covert support for a counter-revolution? Overthrow the revolution by any means necessary? Not suffer him to live?

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16 hours ago, Joe Bauer said:

James Carville

If Bernie is the nominee, I’ll vote for him. No question. I’ll take an ideological fanatic over a career criminal any day. But he’s not a Democrat.

 

Unfortunately it was also Carville who stated years ago why the career criminal will win if he does: "It's the economy, stupid."

I personally find it hard to believe that people check the latest unemployment figures or the latest stock market values or other economic indicators before they go out to vote, as if that's all that matters, but apparently that's the case.

 

 

 

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7 hours ago, Cory Santos said:

For the record JFK's position on Castro made bernie "nauseated".

Corey, That's because JFK's ploy at the debates was to "out- Nixon Nixon". That didn't impress Bernie at the time. Which does illustrate that Bernie has always been Bernie.

Ron said: I personally find it hard to believe that people check the latest unemployment figures or the latest stock market values or other economic indicators before they go out to vote, as if that's all that matters, but apparently that's the case.

Ron:I'm not sure what your evidence is that that is the case.

Huh! A career criminal? I don't think any President more typifies that then our current President.

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1 hour ago, Kirk Gallaway said:

Ron:I'm not sure what your evidence is that that is the case.

 

It's a theme heard over and over in the media that Trump can win reelection if the economy remains good. Which tells me that Carville was right, it seems to be the main thing that voters pay attention to. Trump's crimes won't matter in Trump's America.

 

 

 

.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Ron Ecker said:

It's a theme heard over and over in the media that Trump can win reelection if the economy remains good. Which tells me that Carville was right, it seems to be the main thing that voters pay attention to. Trump's crimes won't matter in Trump's America.

 

 

 

.

 

 

I read a parody of Carville's famous quote somewhere recently-- about Trump support in 2020.

"It's the stupidity, stupid."

Edited by W. Niederhut
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One of many troubling things about Trump voters is that even if it can be proved beyond any doubt that Trump engaged in major financial amount corrupt dealings with any of the following known groups:

 Russian Mob.

U.S. Mob. 

Drug Cartels.

Money laundering banks such as Deutsche Bank.

And who knows who.  

They would still vote for the guy!

They would vote for Hitler if they felt he was on their side regards their deepest xenophobic fears and hatreds.

Trump constantly and purposely infers or even openly states his alignment with these blindly angry, hateful, intolerant and fearful people. 

Problem is, half of our society seems to be in this xenophobic mind set group politically, socially and emotionally. 

Interesting that a word so similar in spelling to xenophobic ( xenophilia) means the opposite.

 

 

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Unfortunately the following world news story will probably soon be interjected as a subject of debate in this 2020 presidential campaign if it actually does get majorly worse in numbers.

Especially if it impacts the entire global economy any more than it has to the tune of tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars already in losses and it's just in the beginning stages according the the following N.Y. Post article.

It will be a tough subject to deal with for every candidate.

1 hour ago - 'Definitely too late' to stop spread of coronavirus, expert says ... “It's definitely too late,” said Jin Dong-Yan, a molecular virologist at Hong Kong University's School of Biomedical Sciences. ... Chinese New Year festival in Miami canceled over coronavirus concerns ... With Post wires ... New York Post.

 

Edited by Joe Bauer
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On 2/9/2020 at 7:33 AM, Ron Ecker said:

It's a theme heard over and over in the media that Trump can win reelection if the economy remains good. Which tells me that Carville was right, it seems to be the main thing that voters pay attention to. Trump's crimes won't matter in Trump's America.

 

 

 

.

 

 

*****************
Yes Rob, and that theme is largely false. One huge area where Trump takes credit are the job figures, but Obama in the last 35 months of his Presidency created 8.1 million jobs. Trump in these last 35 months as President has created only 6.7 million. The economy is like a huge locomotive, a President just cant turn it around on a dime, unless he initiates emergency measures which Trump has not. It usually takes 2 years for a President's economic policies to have any effect at all. Still in the last year, it is fair to note that economy has continued to show strength.
 
The other Trump claim is concerning the present bull market. I actually heard Wheeler say that Wall Street is against Trump, which tells me he knows absolutely nothing about where power truly lies and so he's condemned to stay in his room and look for geneaology and  family conspiracies. In reality the Trump Presidency is Walls Street's perfect storm, an unexpected  windfall unparalleled in at last 100 years. But  the situation is much more diverse and  fluid, partly because people can amass wealth at a rate unimagined in eras passed.
 
As anybody who reads the news, Wall Street is voting with their pocket books, their message to the retired people is a subtle one of intimidation. "If you want to live out a secure retirement elect Trump again." It's been pretty good for me.  But unfortunately the age old conditions of fear and greed have elevated the stock market beyond an unimaginable dimension fueled by big money, and FOMO (fear of missing out) from retail investors who are jumping on the bandwagon while they feel the time is still ripe and there still is a Trump Presidency. Unfortunately they've driven it up so high, it will before too long collapse and as always leave the retail investor in the dust. Such a Trump PR  run up can never be done gracefully so the human psychology of fear and agreed won't eventually cause a panic and a selloff.
 
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3 hours ago, Kirk Gallaway said:
*****************
Yes Rob, and that theme is largely false. One huge area where Trump takes credit are the job figures, but Obama in the last 35 months of his Presidency created 8.1 million jobs. Trump in these last 35 months as President has created only 6.7 million. The economy is like a huge locomotive, a President just cant turn it around on a dime, unless he initiates emergency measures which Trump has not. It usually takes 2 years for a President's economic policies to have any effect at all. Still in the last year, it is fair to note that economy has continued to show strength.
 
The other Trump claim is concerning the present bull market. I actually heard Wheeler say that Wall Street is against Trump, which tells me he knows absolutely nothing about where power truly lies and so he's condemned to stay in his room and look for geneaology and  family conspiracies. In reality the Trump Presidency is Walls Street's perfect storm, an unexpected  windfall unparalleled in at last 100 years. But  the situation is much more diverse and  fluid, partly because people can amass wealth at a rate unimagined in eras passed.
 
As anybody who reads the news, Wall Street is voting with their pocket books, their message to the retired people is a subtle one of intimidation. "If you want to live out a secure retirement elect Trump again." It's been pretty good for me.  But unfortunately the age old conditions of fear and greed have elevated the stock market beyond an unimaginable dimension fueled by big money, and FOMO (fear of missing out) from retail investors who are jumping on the bandwagon while they feel the time is still ripe and there still is a Trump Presidency. Unfortunately they've driven it up so high, it will before too long collapse and as always leave the retail investor in the dust. Such a Trump PR  run up can never be done gracefully so the human psychology of fear and agreed won't eventually cause a panic and a selloff.
 

Annual U.S. GDP growth during the past three years of Trump's tenure in the White House has been less than 3%-- not significantly different from GDP growth rates during the Obama Recovery of 2010-17, when stocks nearly tripled -- despite his enormous tax cuts for corporations.

Most of the Trump/GOP corporate tax windfall was used by CEOs to buy back stock shares, (to increase their own salaries) and U.S. manufacturing already appears to be in a recession.  

Ergo, Trump has, essentially, created a stock market bubble in which inflated stock prices have far outpaced earnings.

Trump does deserve credit for mushrooming the Federal budget deficit and the growth rate of the national debt-- following in the venerable footsteps of Reagan, Dubya Bush, and Dick Cheney.

 

Edited by W. Niederhut
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Addendum:  

Q.  What does the U.S.mainstream media call three years of low unemployment, rising stock market prices, and sub- 3% U.S. GDP growth?

A.  The "booming" Trump economy, and/or the "sluggish" Obama economy.

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