Your bemused Peasant listened intently to the first
Presidential Debate on the radio, and although I
have long known that President Trump has limited
debating skills he can still get his points across
and also dismantle those of his opponents. But the
debate I heard was more like a world championship
boxing match without the gloves and the physical
blows and sounded like it should have been refereed
by a boxing ref or a UFC official rather than moderated
by Chris Wallace, who was overwhelmed by the
savagery on the part of both candidates.
President Trump did some things in the course of the
debate which, if a high school or college student
on his school's debate team did same he would have
been disqualified, or at least would have cost his team
some points. In a debate it is absolutely forbidden to
interrupt your opponent when he is getting his allotted
time to speak; Trump did this several times to former
Vice President Joe Biden, and Chris Wallace could not
get him to stop. This went on throughout almost the
entire debate, almost resulting in a three-way battle!
Our president also has to learn that it is prudent to let
your opponent babble on, making mistakes which will
trap him like quicksand; it will not serve you well if you
stop or interrupt him, just let him trap himself in his own
hogwash. But the ex-VP interrupted many times himself,
merely mirroring the president.
Now, Chris Wallace gave many admonishments and warnings
to President Trump regarding interruptions but not as many
to Biden, and no, it wasn't because Biden interrupted fewer
times; I didn't tally the number of times that either participant
interrupted the other but it was certainly noticeable that
Wallace had taken Trump to task more so than he did Biden.
At one point the former VP barked "Shut up, man!" to the
president and also called him a liar, all without any warnings
from Wallace (!). Trump zinged Wallace, saying "I guess
I'm debating you, not him!", in retaliation for Wallace
letting Biden get away with his interruptions and his
ad hominem attack. It is no secret in media circles, nor
to those who closely follow national politics that Chris Wallace,
who hosts FOX News Sunday, has no love for President Trump.
It would have been better had those who arranged the debate
chosen someone who either dislikes both candidates roughly
equally or has enough professionalism to enforce the rules of
the debate equally without regard to political preference or
personal feelings for either participant.
In addition, many in the media --- liberal as well as conservative
--- were openly critical of Chris Wallace's performance as debate
moderator, even more than they were for that of both of the
debaters (!!). In summation, your flabbergasted Peasant makes it
that the debate was a three-for-all free-for-all, and all three of
the combatants were carrying on more like bar room brawlers
than debaters and a moderator. But, through it all, President Trump
refuted and shot down Joe Biden's fallacious claims as to his
law school education, his performance as a United States senator,
and the programs of President Obama's (especially Obamacare),
as well as Biden's statements regarding the waves of race-based
violence in several American cities (i.e., Black Lives Matter being
"an idea" rather than an organization; never mind that this particular
idea burned businesses, government buildings and police precincts,
looted businesses, and shot, stabbed, and ran down people in the
streets). And this was enough to give President Trump the win
in a very ugly donnybrook of a debate.
President Trump is no Ronald Reagan when it comes to debating
skills. He is no John F. Kennedy regarding clarity and smoothness
of delivery. But he gets results as the top government executive and
head of state. The miraculous economic rebounds (following
shockingly weak Obama economy, then after the Coronovirus
outbreak), getting Israel and some of her regional enemies to
sit at the negotiating table and create a bond of cooperation and
comity, revamping and re-energizing our military, especially at
a time when China is preparing to challenge us for the top world
superpower status, and standing with the people of the beleaguered,
violence-torn cities whose Democrat mayors and Democrat state
governors refused to intervene to restore order, peace, and
protection all made believers out of people who either didn't
and/or wouldn't vote for him four years ago, making supporters
of his in this election year as President Trump vies for a second
term.
And this spells big trouble ahead for the Democrats.
MEM
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