To be honest, because I tuned in about 40 minutes late, I missed the fly. But the video and comments are right on.
Pence's strategy was slightly different from Trump's. He interrupted Harris, but not as much or in the same way Trump interrupted Biden. He was overall quieter and more contained, but he still acted as though he was annoyed that he even had to be there. "Who is this woman who thinks she should have my job?" seemed to be the question in his head.
And, of course, he went over his time--every single time. And not just to finish his sentence or his thought (I'm always willing to let someone do that). He often started on a new tangent as the moderator tried to stop him...in fact, he acted like he couldn't even hear her. Add in that, not once in the 45 minutes or so I watched, did he really answer the question he was asked, but rather resorted to talking points, deflections, and challenges to his opponent, and his presence perhaps really was unnecessary.
Harris had her own moments of obfuscation, of course...every politician will. But she usually at least began by answering the question before heading off to talk about what she wanted to talk about. In my memory, Pence never did--even when a direct answer would have helped his cause. I think, overall, his strategy was "run out the clock."
Just announced this morning that the Presidential debate next week will be handled virtually with the candidates in separate locations and the moderator and town hall participants in yet a third place. I wonder if they will now give the moderator the ability to mute the candidates. (I almost think they have to...anyone who has ever been in a Zoom or similar meeting knows it's like a speaker phone conference--you can't all talk at once.)
Update: I should have seen this coming. Trump says he will not participate in the debate if it's held on-line.
“I’m not going to do a virtual debate,” Trump, who was diagnosed last week with the coronavirus, said in an interview on Fox Business, claiming the Commission on Presidential Debates is “trying to protect” Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“I’m not going to waste my time with a virtual debate. That’s not what debating is all about. You sit behind a computer and do a debate, that is ridiculous,” Trump continued. He indicated that his campaign was not informed of the decision before it was announced.
His campaign manager, Bill Stepien, added "We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.”
1 comment:
There was a time when I might have watched a debate like this, but that was about 20 years ago. Now, questions are asked and never directly answered or not even given a hint of an answer as candidates spew forth pre formed talking points. I didn’t watch the Trump Biden debate either simple because I cannot stand the smirking chimp face of Trump and also I knew what would happen based on 2016. At this point in history and social media, I don’t see any reason to have debates. The only reason many people watch is to see a gotcha moment when someone misspeaks or a fly lands on a candidate’s head. Kind of like NASCAR events, it’s the crashes! I truly believe no one in America who has access to media of any kind does not have an opinion about the candidates that they will take to the voting booth or envelope. There are no undecideds. Cancel the rest of the debates and let’s get to the polls.
Post a Comment