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| Did Tim Kaine really just do his best Trump impression? Did Mike Pence ever answer the actual question asked? |
Mike Pence never tried to answer the unanswerable. Instead, he did what politicians are supposed to do, pivot, spin and control the conversation regardless of previous errors from the campaign. Pence doesn't deserve too much credit for controlling the conversation, however, because it is way too hard to be in control when you are spinning and pivoting so much. For that reason, I not only missed that Kaine beat on Trump without laying a hand on Pence- the actual man onstage last night- I also misunderstood how pundits would view Kaine's effort, forgetting that Pence came into the debate with his own questionable record that made him worthy of deserving a few direct blows himself. He got away mostly unscathed.
I cheered and jeered at the aggressive attacks, even some of the flailing swings from Kaine, and I happily rejoiced at the reality that he was doing more of what Hillary couldn't do in her recent debate because Trump refused to let it happen. I appreciated the fact that the important remarks were being stated and placed on the record even if you had to listen over multiple voices (including the moderator) to hear what was being said sometimes.
I enjoyed the dismissive giggling and dodging that Pence was forced into doing while running from the direct opportunity he was given to actually sell us on the values of Trump or defend him from Kaine's attack that ignored Trump's pawn and went straight for the king himself. Pence never really stood up for his boss, and appeared to lose his way to me if for no reasons other than his intense condemnation of Putin (something Trump seems terribly hesitant to do), and for Pence's inability to build a case for his boss other than "we need change". Conversely, Kaine made Hillary's case from beginning to end.
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| Did Mike Pence just dodge enough poop to elevate himself to top of the GOP field for 2020? |
After hours of flipping channels and watching the video outtakes from the VP debate, a few very distinct revelations came to me. Hillary is so serious about not losing this race that she is treating her debate victory as if she had lost. Not by reviewing the entire debate all over, but by making sense of the televised outtakes that followed.
It's important that we recognize how Trump has not only lowered the bar on political decency, he has lowered the bar on his own expectations and that of the party he currently heads. How can they clean up so many ugly soundbites when they are already on the record, along with the ones he adds each week? Thanks to Trump, his entire camp is now only expected to avoid land mines while begging voters for change. Anything more is way beyond their current expectation, and probably doing too much by virtue.
Despite her brilliance, I wasn't always ready to give Hillary as much credit as I give her now. It is now time we watch, learn and decide. If you are watching, you will easily learn how Hillary has decided to run her campaign. She is showing herself willing and able to adjust to the demands of the undecided electorate, that segment of society that can still be convinced to vote for her. Trump has hit his ceiling some time ago and can only hope to bring dismay to the process and the people Hillary needs for a decisive victory.
Hillary is going about things with reflection and humility, allowing herself the chance to see her own campaign through the eyes of those hesitant to choose her.
It is truly the time to save our children from Trump or with him. As such, it is vital to recognize that the home stretch kick has begun now that voting has started in many states. In my opinion,those questions I once had of Hillary are laughable compared to the question of what happens under a president Trump. Right now is not the time for any of us decided ones, on either side of this battle, to be confused about who WE support, nor wavering in our efforts to help our side win.
To his credit last night, Mike Pence was neither confused or wavering, though he didn't fully show himself on team Trump. Otherwise, the 2016 VP debate
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| If Trump is the current face of the GOP, who takes that position if republicans lose the presidency? |
To enhance that chance, he must do exactly as his running mate displayed by masterfully side stepping all of the piles of poop Trump leaves on the campaign trail for himself and his surrogates to deal with each day. When it comes to big piles of poop, Trump is the head elephant in the GOP arena now, and the primary reason for all of the perfect poop dodging that Pence did last night, providing a clear blueprint for Trump to follow.
Trump's big bombastic poop droppings are part of the reason why MOST Americans have stopped listening to all of this a long time ago.
Not just months ago when Trump first demanded Mexicans leave this land of immigrants, but decades ago when the voter turnout numbers proved that barely 50% of eligible voters in America care to vote in the first place.
WE seem to much prefer television stars over politicians, and our long standing apathy towards politics is doing an awesome job at making a circus out of something so many described as a circus long before now.
Most importantly, Trump is the ring master of circus outtakes. He not only knows how to talk the kind of talk that fills arenas and sells overpriced, useless swag, he knows how to insure the news programs will play his outtakes no matter how irrelevant or damaging they are to his mission, the subject at hand or the country at large.
You see, nothing that actually happens in politics will ever supersede the hot video outtake television uses to thrive. While Trump seems stupid to continue saying silly things like "maybe Hillary is cheating on Bill...but why wouldn't she?", he is brilliant enough to know what it takes to make the outtakes. In the end, there are only so many minutes available to every televised program, and every minute spent on useless but spicy outtakes, is a minute that can't be spent on something substantive.
If So Few Are Voting, How Many Are Not Even Watching?
For those who didn't have the time or energy to endure Hillary v Trump (live or video recording), your only understanding of what happened must be chewed and fed to you in digestible bites for you to swallow and regurgitate to the others who also haven't the teeth for all of this, and demand pre-digested food as well.
Trump understands our fickle digestion like no other presidential candidate before him, and uses bombastic outtakes to drown out the substantive stuff that only 20-30% of us try to chew on our own. That's right. Even if a little more than 50% actually vote regularly, almost half of those people to do it out of civic obligation, and don't necessarily study like they should. As most of us have been watching this foolish circus for months, millions upon millions are slowly and reluctantly taking their seat at the table.
Clinton Changes The Game With Kaine
During her own debate, Hillary mostly kept her poise and was told she won the night, but watched while most of the outtakes were of Trump being an arse, not of her style and substance that were lauded, but was only captured by those who watched the debate themselves. As a result of the slanted soundbites, Hillary and her team have not only caught on to Trump's game, they sent Kaine out to test the game first.
Actually, Hillary's stump speech was the first sign that she has started to display a little more style and way more Johnny Cochran than ever before, and she is now using it to drive the conversation in a way she has not done in previous weeks. Although the most palatable outtakes from the presidential debate were of Hillary tripping up Trump with a few pre-planned lines of attack, Donald's bombastic blast backs and constant interruptions ended up controlling the news streams and forced the pundits to explain to the viewers what the camera wasn't showing.
Consequently, close viewers on either side of each of both of these debates could easily claim a victory. One side based on keeping their cool, and the other for so many hot outtakes, because keeping cool usually ends up on the editing floor.
Whether you watched the VP debate or not, this is what you need to know about last night, and about the Clinton campaign to follow. Hillary has decided to hit a little harder and she intentionally used Kaine's and a few canned phrases to help get it started. On behalf of the democrats, Kaine jumped in the circus ring and left behind piles and piles of seriously unanswerable questions as well as the message that WE all should continue asking Trump the same. Hillary has decided to help us stay on the question even when Trump tries like the crazy to say something new and soundbite worthy for an outtake that might switch the subject and make us forget just how crazed he's been.
Trump's assessment of US is legitimate. How do I know? Raise your hand if you live with, or know someone who often says, "I'm so tired of this campaign. I can't wait until it's over"?
Trump has preyed on our politically fatigued and made victims of the politically handicapped who stay in the back of the pack of society, hoping to be fed digestible morsels of information to aid in their voting and to relieve that empty grumbling in the belly caused by civic guilt.
All of this simply because WE can't stand to watch anymore.
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| I'm not sure if Trump is doing business in Russia, but based on his choice in wives, I damn sure can't simply assume he is not. |
Trump knew it, but now, so does Hillary Clinton. Now, Clinton and her surrogates will proceed to take advantage of every opportunity to blast Trump and his trumpeting Trumpians with the one question that makes very little sense, but was the most resonating outtake from last night's debate.
How can Trump demand Pence release his taxes to qualify as a running mate, but he won't do the same for US?
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