Debate Prep
With less than two days before what will likely be the ONLY debate between President Trump and Vice President Harris, there is a lot of preparations going on and a lot to consider.
The rules are finally set…back to the original rules agreed upon by the Biden campaign BEFORE he dropped out of the race. Standing with no boxes or lifts, no notes, microphones will be muted when not speaking, time limits for responses, rebuttals, and closing statements. Pretty simple and pretty clean.
That much gets all of us through Tuesday’s debate, but that’s all we are likely to get. Do not expect a second debate in the traditional “town hall” format where American citizens get to ask questions of the candidates and certainly don’t expect a third debate traditionally focused on foreign policy. All the indicators say this will be the one and only debate.
In the lead up, there have been some very interesting developments.
Former Speaker Pelosi said she believes there is a significant possibility President Trump doesn’t even show up for this debate. She said he was a coward. Hilarious considering President Trump has been asking for this debate, plus the other two, and he is significantly better at debate and all manner of public speaking than his opponent. More hot air with a smell of scotch coming from Pelosi.
Senator Bernie Sanders said VP Harris is saying and doing whatever it takes to win the election. He made that statement when asked why she had flipped on fracking and Medicare-for-All. He said she “hadn’t abandoned her ideals,” and that she was “trying to be pragmatic and doing what she thinks is right in order to win the election.” Bernie just said she was either lying to win OR she was changing her policies to win. Either way, she was being dishonest to the voters. Thanks for outing her, Bernie, and confirming what we already knew.
Democrats in the House of Representatives published a response to the Republican memo detailing the Biden Administration responsibilities in the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. Both sides did what you’d expect, they blamed each other’s administration for what happened. Lots of finger pointing with no solutions, no resolution, no claims of responsibility. That collective group of assholes probably can’t tell you that today, the 9th of September, is when the war in Afghanistan really started with the assassination of Massoud. I’m sure the topic will come up at the debate, because it is great fodder for the moderators. Prepare yourself for the finger pointing.
In a stroke of 6th grade “Gotcha!” the Harris-Walz campaign FINALLY added their policy pages to the website. Yeah, 36 hours before the debate, they dropped the policies they haven’t mentioned in the fifty days since President Biden hit the eject button. I’m still digging into what they published, but there is a lot of bullshit in there. There are still claims of President Trump enacting Project 2025, which has been debunked for weeks. There is a policy in there discussing price controls, which are socialist and illegal. There are lots of promises in there about passing laws and changing the tax code, which she won’t be able to do without Congress agreeing to it first. It’s generally a bunch of crap, but really the VERY LATE release before the debate is juvenile and very transparent. President Trump can no longer say “you don’t have any policies” and the late release also makes it somewhat more difficult for President Trump to attack.
While all this is going on, the Trump camp has been very quiet. I am confident this is their strategy and nothing more. President Trump is out campaigning and doing his prep on the side. He doesn’t need much prep, honestly. I am also confident, if he can hold it together, his on-stage strategy will be very similar to his debate with President Biden. He will let VP Harris talk herself in circles, listen intently (or pretend to), and then attack her. I think his #1 focus is going to be the flip-flopping on policy. I hope he keeps the name-calling to a minimum.
I am very curious which accent VP Harris uses during this debate. It won’t be the one that makes her sound like she is from the “streets” or the one that makes her sound like she is from the south. I’m sure it will be her very manicured accent that seems to fade in and out when she needs it. I am going to set the betting line on her use of “Excuse me, I’m talking” at five, only because the mics will be muted. She may even say it to the moderators to try to establish dominance.
I hope the moderators don’t spend more than ONE question on the Vice Presidential Candidates. Any more than that is a waste. By the way, I haven’t head when THAT debate is happening. Governor Walz has a tendency to run away when things get tough, so I am sure he isn’t any more eager for a debate than VP Harris has been.
I am sure some of you are wondering, or maybe not, why I am focused so much on just VP Harris. I do try to remain as centrist as possible to analyze both sides fairly. I continue to say, I just want politicians who will do their damn job, no matter what. The reality of this debate is that we have seen President Trump a half dozen times on the debate stage. The last time we saw VP Harris debate, it was against VP Pence, and they had plexiglass between them. The last time before that she GOT DESTROYED by Tulsi Gabbard. Since her assumption as the Democrat candidate, she has been playing hide and seek with the press and has offered no policies until just this morning. SHE is the unknown as a candidate for President.
I’m sure today, President Trump is reading and reviewing. He may even be out campaigning. Vice President Harris is likely knee-deep in the briefing book her team has prepared and she has been ignoring for the last four years. She is preparing. She is probably sweating. She may even be drinking. The campaign teams are probably mimicking their bosses. That tends to happen in any organization.
What about the rest of us? Are we even tuning in? Are we going in cold? You can see I am invested. I want to see this. I will sit through what is potentially a painful couple of hours tomorrow night. What about you? What are you doing as a responsible American for your own Debate Prep?