Sick to my Stomach Over the Debate!

By the time this post goes live the first presidential debate for the 2024 Biden vs Trump election will have been hashed over and dissected everywhere except maybe in outer space where it's still not known if there are little green creatures living there and if they are, have they 'cracked' our language enough to understand how seriously flawed this debate was? What is for certain is the 51 million people on earth watched that hour and an half Hot Mess in what CNN is saying was "both the highest-rated program and largest livestream event in CNN history." But like I've said many times in the past I often write to help me sort out my emotions so let this be a warning to anyone who is sick to dead of this topic, you may want skip reading this post. But I hope you don't.

There is no way around it, Biden (81) came out looking fragile and very early on he delivered a word salad at the end of a sentence and he never recovered from that faux pas, even though he stuck to the format of the debate and actually tried to answer the moderator's questions where Trump (78) employed an underhanded and nasty debate technique called The Gish Gallop. Wikipedia defines the Gish Gallop like this: "The Gish gallop is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm their opponent by providing an excessive number of arguments ...with no regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments." I used to be on a debate team in college and I have no clue how anyone could ever successfully combat the number of lies and insults Trump threw out at a such a fast pace and usually with no relationship to the questions the moderator asked of Trump, leaving Biden looking befuddled and at a loss for words. Who wouldn't be?

CNN didn't live fact-check the debate because, they said, it was up to the candidates to call each other out on misleading and false stuff. The day after, however, Fact Checkers were going at it all over the place including at NPR that reported Trump's claim that food costs have "double, tripled and quadrupled" under Biden when it actually only increased 21%. NPR also said of Biden's claim that Trump's tariff proposal would drive consumer costs up $2,500 per household that it would actually range from $1,700 to $2,500 per year.

I could be here all day if I repeated all the false claims Trump made so I'll jump on the two most outrageous. 1) He denied that the Charlottesville march with the Proud Boys wearing swastikas and carrying tiki torches while chatting Nazi slogans ever took place, and 2) he claimed that the January Sixth Insurrection only "involved a relatively small number of people who where escorted in by the Capital Police." How on earth he gets his followers to believe lies like these when those events were both live on TV and documented on film by a wide number of trusted media sources is beyond understanding. It's scary that we live with so many low information people who believe the crap coming out of his mouth or worse yet, they don't care that he lies and insults his way through life.

The next day both men were at rallies hashing over the debate and Biden was a totally different person who looked and sounded strong and energetic. I truly wish that Biden had shown up at the debate. A couple of sources said he was fighting a cold the night before but I find it hard to believe a night's sleep would make that much difference unless he'd taken something for the cold before the debate. He admitted he isn't the debater he used to be or as young as he used to be but, he said, "I know right from wrong and how to tell the truth and how to get things done. When you get knocked down, you get back up!"

Obama put out a Facebook post after the debate that said much the same things. "Bad debate nights happen," he wrote. "Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November." 

I have to confess that watching the debate made me sick to my stomach. There's talk among the party big wigs about replacing the top of the ticket and there is still time to do that, but that process is messy. Here's what Reuters reported was said by Elaine Kamarck, from the Brookings Institute and a ranking member of the DNC. "He will not be nominated officially until later this summer, so there is still time to make a change and a handful of scenarios to enact one: Biden could decide himself to step aside before he is nominated; he could be challenged by others who try to win over the delegates he has accrued; or he could withdraw after the Democratic convention in Chicago in August, leaving the Democratic National Committee to elect someone to run against Trump in his place." Doing it after the convention would be less messy and would present a more united front. Governor Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg or Governor Gretchen Whitmer are mentioned by most sources as the most likely to get voted in at the top of the ticket. This all makes me feel better that we aren't locked into running the Biden who showed up at the debate, should he show up more often in the next few weeks. 

But I'll be perfectly honest here, I'd prefer it if Biden stepped down but if he doesn't I will vote for him over Trump even if Joe is in a coma. Our Democracy is at stake and that is NOT hyperbolic. Trump's a dangerous threat to our entire system of government. Especially now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the president has "absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts, even if done corruptly or in violation of the criminal laws," as Chief Justice Robert wrote in the majority ruling.

Trump plans to gut the FBI, the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue, do away with the Department of Education, the Environmental Protection Agency, undo all the climate control protocols set in place, not to mention how he'll continue to destroy women's reproductive rights. All that and his allegiance to the NRA, Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation that has already made serious inroads into watering down our Supreme Court will fundamentally change the character of our country from a Democracy to Authoritarian government at best, or a Dictatorship at its worst. And let's not forget that the next president also will get to appoint two Supreme Court justices because Thomas and Alito want to retire. 

This election is the most important one in our lifetime. We all need to stay informed and help people understand that we must go to the polls this fall if for no other reason than for the down-ballot people. Which party controls the House and Senate are is going to be crucial no matter who is elected our 47th president.

Until Next Wednesday. ©

Footnote: I just saw this posted on Facebook by Kati Berg: "I have fond memories of the last time Trump was in office ….. refrigerator trucks full of bodies.”about 100,000. Food shortages, people fighting over toilet paper. And essential workers, being sacrificed. Isolation. School shootings . Good times. "

This, That and the First Debate

Remember the man who showed up at my door a few weeks ago to tell me about a food bank give away his church was holding, no questions asked for anyone in need? I think he and his wife have pegged me as their adopt-a-lonely-widow project. She showed up on my doorstep today from down the street and around the corner with a jar of rhubarb jam in hand and she apologized for not coming down sooner. Mind you, I couldn’t pick either one of them out of a lineup unless the lineup was held in front of their house. Levi and I have stopped to make small talk while out walking when they’re in their yard, but they’ve never been here before. We’ve both lived in the neighborhood for almost 20 years, hadn't even exchanged names, and it seems so weird that all of a sudden they seem to want to make friends. I wish I could shake the feeling that I’m being pitied. I keep wondering if I said something that made them want to reach out like they are apparently doing. “Ouch!” Yes, that’s me kicking myself in the butt. I do vaguely remember a conversation about the pandemic and lack of social contact.

This week I saw the physiatrist who tested me for carpel tunnel. I really didn’t know what a PM&R specialist does but Mr. Google had an answer to that question. It’s a doctor who “treats a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons.” After sticking little pads with wires coming out of them all over my fingers and wrist that were connected to a computer and sticking three inch long needles down into the muscles on my right arm he said I’ve got a mild case of carpel tunnel but nothing severe enough to be causing the needles-and-pins feelings I’m getting when I type. He promised to get the report to my bone doctor before my next appointment.

The doctor himself came out to usher me into his exam room and to take my insurance cards. When was the last time you’ve had that happen? I was probably in my early teens the last time I remember seeing a doctor without a receptionist. When was the last time you've heard hard rock blasted into a doctor's waiting room? Me---never until this appointment. He was an interesting guy to talk with. He asked about my prior surgeries and when I told him I’ve had both knee replacements and that it was the best gift I ever gave myself, he latched on to that bit of information. He wanted to know about my recovery and physical therapy afterward and I suspected he’s in the queue to get a new knee himself. I told him I followed my doctor and the PT’s directions to the letter of the law and my knees have never given me a bit of trouble 11 and 13 years out from the replacements. He said 70% of his patients don’t do their after surgery rehabs and he tells them they can’t expect a successful surgery if they don’t get with the program and put the work in.

Did you watch the first debate this week? It went like I expected it to go, Trump talking over Biden and the moderator, Biden a little too soft spoken by comparison. The debate format was set with fifteen minute segments per question where the candidates were supposed to each have two minutes to answer the question, then they'd have the remaining time for “open discussion.” To me, that format was just too loose and invited the hot mess the debate turned out to be. The powers in charge apparently agree and are looking for ways to give the moderator more control. Duh, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that more traditional rules for debates including timed rebuttal responses need to be put in place. But, of course, both candidates have to agree with any changes made and we have to wait and see if that happens.

The high point of the night (or rather the low point of the night) was when Chris Wallace, the moderator, asked if Trump would condemn White Supremacists and militia groups, and after some back and forth Trump said and I quote, “Proud Boys — stand back and stand by.” The next day the New York Times wrote this about the group: “Several civil rights groups have condemned the Proud Boys, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, which classifies them as a hate group, and the Anti-Defamation League, which refers to them as “hard-core white supremacists.” Yes, we officially have a White Supremacist in the Oval Office who on national TV gave the group reason to celebrate. The Proud Boys have been involved in causing trouble at recent protest marches and their website is full of calls for them to “stand by” at polling places. Stand by for what? Too many people of color trying to vote? Stand by like they did on the steps of the state capital in Michigan, armed to the teeth because they didn't want to wear a freaking mask? Trump isn’t using dog whistles anymore, he’s letting his support for white supremacy show to the entire world. We should all be embarrassed by that. I’m sorry, but nothing he might bring to the table that some would see as good for the country can outweigh his divisiveness. If he’s reelected we are going down for the count. ©

The day after the debate the Proud Boys added this logo to their websites and are already selling t-shirts and patches imprinted with the president's words. They are not ambiguous about what the president said. Yet the day after the debate my Trump supporting in-laws were defending him and are saying the media was twisting his words. They were conveniently leaving off the 'stand by' part of Trump's statement. Whatever it takes for them to sleep at night, I guess. 

 

NOTE: I wrote this post on Wednesday, the day after the debate but the news cycle has exploded since then with Trump flying off to the hospital because of Covid-19. I'm only surprised that it didn't happen sooner. I can only hope this is a wake-up call for the anti-maskers who Mr. Trump created in his image.