September 7, 2024

"It’s the stuff of #Resistance dreams: Kamala Harris, the prosecutor, gets onstage in Philadelphia next Tuesday across from Donald Trump, the felon, and proceeds to brutally expose him..."

"... as a racist and sexist con man who’s been lying to the American people ever since his famous escalator ride nine years ago. Only that’s not how she or her debate-prep team sees her main objective for the debate — at all. In mock-debate sessions in Pittsburgh, planning meetings in Washington, and briefing-book cram sessions between public events on the campaign trail, the vice-president and her aides have kept much of their focus on fine-tuning ways to keep presenting her as representative of a new political era for the benefit of curious voters who are still interested in learning more about her — and who may swing the race come November... 'She’s not known in the way Donald Trump is,' says one senior Democrat who used to work for Joe Biden and is now close to the Harris campaign’s leaders. 'It’s an opportunity to define herself....'"

Writes Gabriel Debenedetti, in "Why Kamala Isn’t Preparing to Knock Out Trump at the Debate/To her campaign, something else is more important" (NY Magazine).

"[S]ince the debate rules about muted microphones mean she is unlikely to have many clear back-and-forths with him.... Harris is more likely to turn to the camera and highlight Trump’s antics by modeling restraint rather than by confronting him and getting dragged into the mud.... [T]he group actually surrounding Harris has been purposely limited to her senior-most campaign advisers and a handful of aides who have worked with her on policy in various offices.... (Philippe Reines, a longtime Hillary Clinton aide, has been playing Trump in debate-practice sessions, reprising his 2016 role.) Even some old friends haven’t spoken with her, and are watching from afar, hearing only second- and third-hand reports of how her prep is going...."

Philippes Reines... Hillary had something to say about him in the interview I blogged about earlier (here). She said:
Well, I think Philippe playing Trump is perfect because honestly, he did such a good job, conveying the sort of whole package of Trump for me, that I am absolutely sure he is doing the same thing for the vice president.

You can count on Reines to do the same thing, that I can believe. But does Reine's "whole package" — "sort of" — really constitute what it is about Trump that works on the people who come around to accepting or even wanting what Trump has to offer? I think that those who loathe Trump, especially those who are deeply invested in the success of the Democratic Party, cannot grasp the cosmic mystery of Trump's success. It shouldn't work. Why then does it work? If you're stuck on It shouldn't work, then you do not have anything like "the sort of whole package of Trump." But I'm willing to bet that Philippe Reines is immensely entertaining to those who are missing the point.

132 comments:

Pillage Idiot said...

"Trump is a loose cannon, you never know what he is going to say."

"We found a person to play Trump that can exactly predict what he is going to say."

Michael K said...

she'll be lucky not to embarrass herself.

Political Junkie said...

The hostess' highlighted portion shows what I said since the beginning of the switcheroo - KH can be sold, whereas SOB Biden was an extinct brand

Shouting Thomas said...

The mystery they won’t consider is that Trump succeeds on policy, like advocating securing the border. I’m a vet of the 60s Vietnam anti-war movement. What originally moved me to favor Trump was his no new foreign wars stance. What makes it impossible for the left to see this? They labeled policy disagreement as bigotry and treason.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The Country is an absolute mess - and people are considering voting for Kamala.
This decision is based mostly on the non-stop Trump vilification, Trump hate cult, and Authoritarian lawfare and abuse against Trump.
All while true corruption - *see Biden family - is excused and ignored.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

When I see the word #Resist
I think - a pack of leftist losers who cannot except defeat at the ballot box.
I think - a pack of far left authoritarians who will lie and cheat, to get their absolute power.

and I think - fuck all of them.

gilbar said...

representative of a new political era

i GUESS that's Fair..
After All. The world we are in SUX..
And Donald Trump won the last two elections; so, it's ALL HIS FAULT!
Just Imagine How WONDERFUL the world would be, if we'd had the Democrat Party in power at ANY TIME in the last 24 years!!!
We NEED TO STOP TRUMP!!
and, the Only Way to do that, is to DEMAND Voter ID and Paper Ballots!

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

She will use memorized sound bites practiced dozens of times to get exactly the desired rhythm, pitch, tone, and emotional affect and she will stick to them. (This will include memorized offhand comments.) And it will probably work.

Trump is a terrible debater and can't be bothered to memorize coherent sound bites to make his points. He is his worst advocate in a debate so she should just let him implode impotently. (Trump is better at stump speeches because they are a different forum.)

The CNN interview, coupled with what we learned about how they hid Biden's defects from us indicates there is something seriously wrong with Harris. Memorized soundbites will steer her through the debate and the propaganda machine will do the rest after that.

Achilles said...

The more invested you are in politics the less you will understand Trump.

R C Belaire said...

I don't believe this at all. Harris has months to "define" herself, but maybe just one opportunity to lay into Trump in person.

Political Junkie said...

I am afraid you are correct, hope you are wrong.

Yancey Ward said...

Harris simply does not have the ability to think and speak on her feet without sounding like a moron out of her depth. Even with the questions in hand and with memorized answers, quips, and retorts the debate performance is going to be dependent on her ability to organize her thoughts and all the memorized material into coherent and meaningful sentences. It is almost like people don't understand that everything she has done to date is also prepared beforehand by staff- Harris simply is incapable of doing her part of this acting process.

Sebastian said...

"presenting her as representative of a new political era" But I thought her great advantage was her long career in public office? All those people she locked up to keep us safe! First Indian-American senator! First Black female VP! Co-responsible for Bidenomics, border security, and successful Afghanistan exit!

Dave Begley said...

“ presenting her as representative of a new political era” The fuck! Harris represents the failed last four years and she was a major part of the failure! Inflation? She cast the deciding vote on the two big spending bills. Immigration? She was the border czar that let 11m plus illegals invade!

Breezy said...

It’s amusing that they accuse him of being a con man, when they all have a solid reputation for some scandalous conning themselves — the hoaxes, climate change, infrastructure bills that are sops to their donors, bail reform, Ukraine, Iran deal, etc.
Not to mention pressing the need for censorship, CRT, genital mutilation, and banning gas stoves. They should just sit down when it comes to calling anyone else a con man.

DINKY DAU 45 said...

Trump says " she wouldn't be the chosen one" he can only sexual abuse the chosen one?what is this court adjudicated sexual abuser saying?

BG said...

All that needs to happen is that she goes into a prolonged “cackle.” Cringe

Dave Begley said...

As to memorized retorts, I talked Lloyd Benten’s campaign team. They had the “you’re no Jack Kennedy” line planned.

Wince said...
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MartyH said...

Harris takes a while to organize her thoughts. That’s part of the reason she wanted open mics-to be able to go over her time and finish her points.

Maynard said...

What presidential debate candidates say in terms of substance is far less important than how they look saying it.

It is not really a debate. It is a campaign ad.

Wince said...

Team Harris believes they have to elevate substance over emotion.

Trump leads on substance so he can elevate the emotion behind policy.

For example, Trump highlighting the direct transfer of wealth from millions of the poorest people in the world to the human smuggling drug cartels. Highlighting the human cost of that vulnerable journey -- all incentivized and facilitated by the policies of Biden-Harris -- as well as coming at tremendous cost to Americans, both financially and in terms of personal and national security.

Hassayamper said...

Of course. I realized that just as soon as the words came out of Bentsen's mouth.

Likewise Geraldine Ferraro's complaint about being "patronized" by George Bush the elder during their debate in 1984. It couldn't have been more rehearsed if it had been delivered from a stage on Broadway.

Leland said...

#Resistance = those that didn't accept Trump winning in 2016 and refused to accept his orders as a duly elected President.

Achilles said...

Just another person who thinks they are smart who doesn't understand why Trump is objectively the most successful retail politician in American history.

Aggie said...

They've been keeping Kamala under wraps since she was announced as the Candidate. Her crowds have been bussed in; they're professional adorers, paid to cheer.

She has said very little of substance about her policy plans. She's like next year's model, covered with a white sheet, getting ready for the Grand Reveal at the Auto Show. It's all hype, and they're hoping that the excitement about the hype, the removal of the white sheet on debate night, is going to move the listeners past the 'listening-to-what-she's-saying' part.

Achilles said...

Tribal Affinity leads to Ideological Possession.

Instant loss of 50 IQ in any logical conversation.

They’re eating the cats 🐈 —They’re eating the dogs 🐕 said...

Per usual, the bar is set low for Trump but high for the person he is debating.

In Thursday's speech at the Economic Club of New York, Trump was asked: "Overall what do you estimate will be the impact of the fiscal deficit from your policies?"

His answer...

"Well, we just hit record highs at numbers that nobody ever thought possible. You’re right, over $2 trillion. Nobody thought that was a number that was – I mean, you could go back four years. Nobody thought a number like that would be possible. It’s crazy. It’s like – it’s just horrible, actually.

But yeah, we’re – $2 trillion – and I view it as profit and loss to a certain extent. A lot of people say, oh, it’s trade. You know, you have many people say trade deficits don’t matter. I think they matter a lot.

I think they matter a lot. We’re going to have tremendous growth. This – what I’m talking about is all about growth. The tax is relatively minor compared to the growth. We’re going to make our money back on growth. We’re going to also – I mean, we’re going to grow like nobody has ever grown before. I think if this all works out, you’re going to have the auto industry come back to America. Right now, China is building two auto factories in Mexico – massive auto factories.

And they think they’re going to make their cars in Mexico and send them back into the United States with no tax. It’s not going to happen. Under this administration, it’s going to happen. And they wanted to do that during my administration.

I said, if you do it, we’re going to put a 200 percent tariff on every car and you’ll never be able to see it. There will never be one car coming across our border. And if I would have let them do it, we would have had these two factories. Well, now they’re building massive factories – more than two – and they’re going to kill Detroit.

And the head of the union, the United Auto Workers in Detroit, has done a terrible, terrible job – just a terrible job. But we’re going to bring tremendous growth back. And remember, we’re also taking in a certain percentage – I won’t name the percentage today, but it’ll be a certain tariff percentage, which will be higher than people had heard in the past. And we will be bringing in billions and billions of dollars, which will directly reduce our deficits.

Okay? Thank you very much. Good job you’ve done, by the way. Very good."
https://singjupost.com/full-transcript-trump-speaks-at-the-economic-club-of-new-york/?singlepage=1

What he really did is mix up what an actual deficit was vs a trade deficit.

Trump wants to argue that his tariffs will stop certain goods from being imported yet also raise a lot of federal revenue -- and do so without raising prices. It's a jumble of wild promises tied together with embarrassing economic illiteracy.

His 25% tariff on steel lost a lot of federal income tax that would otherwise have been collected from steel-using U.S. corporations (such as autos, appliances, and construction) and their workers.

What is seen is the added tariff revenue. What is unseen is the resulting shrunken income tax base and therefore shrunken future corporate and individual income tax receipts.

mccullough said...

Trump contains multitudes.

As soon as Philippe gets shot then gets up his Trump is bullshit.

mccullough said...

Trump contains multitudes.

As soon as Philippe gets shot then gets up his Trump is bullshit.

Aggie said...

And how has Kamala responded to the question, or similar ones?

Lazarus said...

Wikipedia cites CBS: Reines is "known for his bullish, combative personality—traits that often mirror Trump’s personal debate style." So Reines may be temperamentally similar to Trump. Brash, impulsive people may have some similarities, but they don't all behave in the same way and may not be able to understand and imitate each other. Their "bullish, combative" side may make them less able to analyze people with similar personalities than someone with a more reflective personality could. Moreover, Reines has been living in the DNC universe for so long that he may not understand how things look to those outside the Establishment and to those who aren't political professionals or government hangers-on.

P.S. During one of Reines' rare stints in the private sector, he went into business with Jeremy Bash, Dana's ex, another Clinton hanger-on.

J Severs said...

No battle plan survives its first contact with the enemy.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...
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gilbar said...

she Needs to Brag, about how she was the 51st vote for the Inflation Runaway Act!

Christopher B said...

It's predictable.

With a fake news hack asking questions, her emotional support governor by her side, under no time pressure because it wasn't live, and two-thirds of the tape left on the cutting room floor, she still managed to turn several answers into word salad.

Her only hope is another of those "I'm speaking" moments if ABC helpfully leaves Trump's mic live.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

Thanks. Where do you get your material? (This in particular.)

Wince said...
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Wince said...

J Severs said...
No battle plan survives its first contact with the enemy.

Trump quoting Mike Tyson: "Everybody has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face."

Balfegor said...

Harris should ask Shane Gillis to do his Trump impersonation, riffing off of whatever she says in any mock debate.

KJE said...

If anyone took the time to listen to the Trump interviews on the Sean Ryan show, Theo Vonn, or Lex Friedman, they might get the sense that Trump’s tone has changes from 2020. And if he stays that way during the debate, he’s going to be a whole different animal.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

It's a controlled environment. You get to say what you want to say. About 25 minutes of memorized material will get her through the entire debate.

Robert Cook said...

Trump embarrasses himself terribly every time he appears and speaks in public, but it doesn't seem to dim the ardor for him of the ignorant and credulous marks he is grifting.

Michael K said...

Cook, as usual, assumes he is the smartest in the room. Is anyone else in that room with you, commie ?

Robert Cook said...

More astonishing (and dire) is that some people are actually considering voting for Trump.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Cook - Name that Dire. When Trump was Prez - we didn't have this collective leftist shit show.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Cook proves my point.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

When I see the word #Resist
I think - a pack of far left losers who cannot except defeat at the ballot box.
I think - a pack of far left authoritarians who will lie and cheat, to get their absolute power.

Michael K said...

Inga would not agree and all those dead Biden voters are just as sure as she is.

Kai Akker said...

More mush from the wimp. so to speak. On the one hand, on the other hand.
I don't really care, do you?

Michael K said...

It is interesting to see those fake "SUPPORTERS" bussed in to every event

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

Good point.

Yes, I caught the same vibe.

In the Biden debate he was alert enough to let Biden talk uninterrupted a lot of the time (not all the time, though).

But, when he gets to talk, he needs to have punchy summaries of his points. Endless rambling doesn't do it. After each Harris recitation, he needs a one sentence response that cuts through the fog. Things like: "that's what her PR team wants us to hear now, but we know that's not who she is," or "that was a very good recitation, very good, maybe your best so far," or "yes, putting people in prison is your thing, many a California pot smoker has learned that the hard way."

Achilles said...

Cook is too stupid to see himself.

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

It's not that hard.

You memorize the pieces and then learn how to string them together to get to where you want to go. One sentence to break the opponent's rhythm and show disdain, repugnance, condescension, humor, or dismissiveness. Then maybe a sentence to make nice to the moderator or audience, then a memorized chunk to make your own point. Occasionally a joke or personal aside tossed in. And when all else fails, have a catchall, something like "let's not forget what this election is about [insert list of talking points]."

Achilles said...

I love it when arm chair quarterbacks like Gerda pretend they could throw a football over that mountain over there.

Achilles said...

Rich argues with himself. Declares himself the winner.

heyboom said...

The left keep forgetting Trump's been a larger than life public figure for over 50 years.

damikesc said...

Yeah, so much worse than Kamala's speech there. Oh wait, she DID do one there, right? CNN is not the ONLY one she has done, is it? Those...20 something minutes?

Hey, can you explain her views on fracking? She says she made her position clear in 2020, but during her primary run she advocated it and in her one debate, she said Biden would not ban it. Any ideas?

Gerda Sprinchorn said...

Achilles: It's entirely possible I'm wrong and Harris won't be able to pull it off. I was stunned at how bad she was in the CNN interview even with all the help. There is a very real possibility that something is seriously wrong with Harris and she will be unable to maintain enough discipline to stick to her memorized lines.

hombre said...

To lefties like Rich loss of tax revenue signals the ultimate policy failure. The government and the marxists must recover "their" money. And who, exactly, set the debate bar low for Trump - ever? No wonder he didn't notice Joe's dementia.

narciso said...

The guy responsable for the Russian reset and other Clinton follies

He was also in business with mike morell

The rule of Lemnity said...

"... the vice-president and her aides have kept much of their focus on fine-tuning ways to keep presenting her as representative of a new political era for the benefit of curious voters who are still interested in learning more about her..."

Kamala is going up against an unprecedented American political Chimera. Trump represents the new, he's not endorsed by the GOP old guard, thereby not beholden to them, (unlike Kamala) Trump is not endorsed by old money (Kamala is) and (at the same time) Trump represents the old and wise, in that he was president already and the country prospered during his presidency. And because he was president already, the dooms day predictions about what he's second coming will bring sound hollow.

So, no matter how Kamala tries to reshape herself, Trump represents a much better overall package.

From Wikipedia: "In figurative use, derived from the mythological meaning, "chimera" refers to an unrealistic, or unrealisable, wild, foolish or vain dream, notion or objective." The secret, open to everyone who cares to look; the real dreamers are in the Trump camp. Why is it that Musk, RFK Jr and others are able to see it?

The way of Kamala has failed every time it has been tried. That's why her line says, "unburdened by what has been". And even if I became somehow foolhardy enough to believe Communism could work, Kamala? Who's telling me Kamala is going to finally bring about a workers paradise?

I may be a dreamer, but I'm not one to promote suicide.

hombre said...

Trump is a bully and a blowhard. I don't care, nor do most of his supporters. For his detractors it's an element of TDS. However, there may be a few thoughtful people watching. He would do well to rein it in, focus on Biden-Harris failures and his successes. Canned sound bites would be good. But that's not Trump, is it?

hombre said...
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Inga said...

Robert, it’s almost as if they’re in a cult or something…

gadfly said...

"Its the stuff of #Resistance dreams: Kamala Harris, the prosecutor, gets onstage in Philadelphia next Tuesday across from Donald Trump, the felon, and proceeds to brutally expose him..."

Or as Liz Cheney puts it: " Look, I think that, you know. Every, every opportunity, that Donald Trump gets to show the American people who he is. He pretty clearly– and look, his running mate is doing this too I mean, you know. This is my diplomatic way of saying it. They’re misogynistic pigs."

hombre said...
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Kate said...

If Kamala goes prosecutor/girlboss on Trump, she'll only win over a small subset of voters.

Nikki was pretty good at presenting herself as professional, feminine (and short), and not angry. She's certainly a better model than Hillary of how to manage a debate. Of course, Nikki was never on stage opposite Trump.

rehajm said...

Harris is more likely to turn to the camera and highlight Trump’s antics by modeling restraint rather than by confronting him and getting dragged into the mud

...all those millions wasted on advisors, consultants and 'experts' and not a single one has figured out he doesn't start shit, Trump hits back...and if Kamala tries to beat him calmly on policy, she loses. If she tries to string together coherent sentences, she loses. Did any of the minions watch Trump's last debate- the one where he never flew off the handle and represented himself well? Someone on their side might want to suggest to them to watch it...

rehajm said...

Is the prediction of Kamala backing out still on the table? Maybe they are calling an audible based on how well Kamala can recite the answers to the provided questions...and as I recall Hillary was too quick with her rehearsed answers...

Yancey Ward said...

Gerda, you are imagining someone like yourself in the debate. Harris is probably 30-40 IQ points below yourself. She could be brilliantly successful at faking it if she were only 10-20 lower, but she isn't that smart.

chuck said...

Giggle.

Balfegor said...

I think there would be substantial legal and practical obstacles in many states. She's already been elected the nominee, so laws like the Michigan one that (temporarily) blocked Kennedy's voluntary removal from the ballot would stand in their way. Also, because early voting starts in, I think, about 30 days or less in many jurisdictions, ballots are going to be printed soon. Our antiquated electoral systems are such that it might not be feasible to reprint ballots in time if they start two or three weeks later. I think the Democrats are stuck with her.

But on the other hand, the time constraints of early voting work in their favour. The less time there is for voters to think about Harris and who she is and what she would do as President, the more likely they are to vote for her. If the election had been held three weeks ago, I think she would have won a landslide. If the election were held three months from now, I think Trump would win a landslide. Instead it's between one and two months from now, which I think puts it at the edge of Harris's viability.

Inga said...
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Inga said...

I can’t wait to hear Trump’s latest stance on abortion. They should ask him questions that will need detail rich answers in the time he is allotted before his mic gets turned off. His “weave” may need some tweaking. He might wish he didn’t push so hard for muted mics.

Dixcus said...

Isn't it so cool that Inga and Dick Cheney - literally Darth Vader - are in politics together? Voting for the same candidate? I love that.

They’re eating the cats 🐈 —They’re eating the dogs 🐕 said...

Althouse’s team of Trump whisperers prepare for debate coverage where they will turn gibberish into coherent policy statements… 😂

Inga said...

He could give a pithy quick answer to childcare, “Childcare is childcare, tariffs!” No weave nessessary.

Howard said...

The lame stream media strikes again. Thinking they are preparing the battle space with some well-placed shelling only to cause the opponent to become more solidly dug in and ready to ambush. It's like this person is writing copy directly for the Trump campaign.

mindnumbrobot said...

'She’s not known in the way Donald Trump is,' says one senior Democrat...

While that may be true from a certain point of view, the problem for Team Kamala is not that voters don't know who she is, it's that they do know who she is.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“ Moreover, Reines has been living in the DNC universe for so long that he may not understand how things look to those outside the Establishment

Difficult to overstate how this is the very essence of this election and what people say about it. Clearly, the NYT hasn’t a clue, but there must be at least one person in Kamala’s campaign that gets it, which explains why they keep parroting Trump.

n.n said...

Karma-la the prosecutor explains how the black man grabbed her by her pussy hat and made her a subordinate clause in his progressive religion, and her choice to judge and label men and women given the green deals that she signed with enthusiasm then day after regrets.

Mason G said...

"When I see the word #Resist..."

I see a three-year-old throwing a temper tantrum because his parents won't let him get a candy bar at the supermarket.

robother said...

Kamala was never a criminal trial lawyer. Her, umm, oral skills propelled her to managerial positions in the DA office that likely meant she never had to cross examine anyone before a jury. The #Resistance fantasies of Inga et al. are based on nothing.

Charlie said...

"She’s not known in the way Donald Trump is"

We've all had 6 years to get to know her. Verdict? No one likes or respects her.

Good luck with that.

tolkein said...

The question of tariffs and who wins/loses is interesting. Being English I am prejudiced in favour of free trade. BUT. The Roman Empire and The Indian Ocean (I bet you didn't know just how extensive and important Roman trade over the Indian Ocean was) discusses how the Roman Empire was funded. Largely, in the East, from tariffs. The goods coming in were luxury goods - spices, jewels, etc. Rome imposed a 25% tariff, and then the merchants sold the stuff - generally to the rich. The Romans had no effective way of direct taxation or taxing the rich. But tariffs on stuff only the rich could afford was a way of funding the Empire and getting the rich to do it.
Specific tariffs, not just general ones, are worth considering. They benefit local industry and its workers. It's true that they raise prices more generally, but if you won't buy an electric car, why would you care if 25% tariffs raised the price of something you wouldn't buy anyway.
So, as usual, there's a lot more in Trump speak than you first expect.
This is my thinking about the Roman Empire day!

fairmarketvalue said...

I don't know about the bully part, but whatever. It seems to me Trump did ok "reining it in" during the debate with Brandon.

Skeptical Voter said...

You know why current and former prosecutors have a sterling won loss record in trials? Is it because they are mighty cross examiners and brilliant speakers--like Kamala? No children. It's because they press for and get plea deals in >90 percent of the cases they see. So spare me the codswallop about Kamala's brilliance as a prosecutor. Yes she was District Attorney of San Francisco, and Attorney General of California. But those are not courtroom jobs--they are political and administrative. So Tuesday nights set up is government administrator type versus private businessman. One has trouble stringing words together on the fly, and the other has more words than he can control. We'll see.

fairmarketvalue said...

Liz Cheney is a jealous bitch. And you're quoting, you know, Liz Cheney, because?

fairmarketvalue said...

The reason GOPe Nikki was never on stage with Trump is because she's smarter than Commiela.

Christopher B said...

I suspect rehajm meant backing out of the debate, per Prof Althouse's prediction.

In a Morning Jolt earlier this week, Geraghty noted that an RFKjr lawsuit to have his name removed held up distribution of absentee ballots in one state so in some cases early voting is already started.

RCOCEAN II said...

She’s not known in the way Donald Trump is,' says one senior Democrat who used to work for Joe Biden and is now close to the Harris campaign’s leaders. 'It’s an opportunity to define herself....'

That's a hell of thing to say about the sitting 3.5 year VP of the USA! Yeah, Kamala Harris - mystery woman. And of course, by not doing press conferences or making speeches, she wants to keep it that way.

Christopher B said...

Listen to deep thoughts about Starbuck's cup lids (Ed Driscoll@Instapundit)

Luke Lea said...

How will she differentiate herself from Biden? That's her vulnerability I think.

Readering said...

Well established that the cosmic mystery of Trump's success is limited to a minority. She'll be reaching for the rest who are part of the no-mystery Trump failure.

JAORE said...

If 4 million watch the whole debate I'd be shocked. Of those fully 80-90 percent are locked into their choice. Add in the inevitable, she did somewhere between fine and fantastic. (Remember Biden did "fine" too until crowd reaction called BS.)Throw in a dose of my-how-that-Trump fellow lies from MSM.... Kamala will survive, but perhaps not thrive.

hombre said...

Rich and Howard maintain the pretext that the "mainstream media" is not obviously, deeply in the tank for Kamala. It makes one wonder. Maybe lefties are not evil beings committed to the unraveling of the Republic. Maybe they really are just heedless nincompoops. Not that the outcome would change.

donald said...

Gadfly is an endless war enthusiast that wants a threesome with Liz and Dick while George and Hillary watch. You know, strange bedfellows and such.

donald said...

How many babies were you a part of murdering and how many times did you orgasm while killing?

donald said...

They both enjoy killing innocents, so there’s that.

Butkus51 said...

We havent castrated enough kids yet. We NEED 4 more years of Kammie.

effinayright said...

The "memorized answers" assumption requires that she be given the questions to memorize. If the debate format allows Trump to respond to/rebut those answers, he'll very likely put her on the spot.

Michael K said...

Gibberish from the lefty, again.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

The Cheney family are all in for Corrupt Democrats. hahahahaha ha ha

donald said...

Retards gonna retard.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"It’s the stuff of #Resistance dreams: Kamala Harris, the prosecutor, gets onstage in Philadelphia next Tuesday across from Donald Trump, the felon, and proceeds to brutally expose him as a racist and sexist con man who’s been lying to the American people ever since his famous escalator ride nine years ago."

1: Wow, so when did "prosecutors" become "good" to the Left?
2: It's DEI supporters Harris and Walz who are the racists and sexists
3: "con man who’s been lying to the American people". You mean Tim Walz?
Never served in a war zone
Isn't a Command Sergeant Major because he's a coward who betrayed his troops and bugged out when the unit was going to go to Iraq
Is a communist

Or maybe you mean Harris, who spent 3+ years lying to the American people about Biden's dementia, and is now lying to the American people about her positions on controversial issues?

Will Cate said...

Very deft lowering-of-expectations there from The Intelligencer

Tina Trent said...

Shawn Michael Tillman.

Robert Cook said...

If Trump was standing on stage and his debate adversary was a potted plant, I would vote for that potted plant over Trump.

Dr Weevil said...

If Trump was standing on a stage and his debate adversary was a leopard running as the nominee of the Leopards Eating People's Face Party, I'm pretty sure Robert Cook would vote for that leopard over Trump.

AndrewV said...

I keep hearing people making a big deal about Kamala Harris's experience as a prosecutor, but what I would like to know has anyone looked up her record of her time at the Alameda County District Attorney's office? Her time as San Francisco DA and as the California Attorney General was time managing an office, not in the courtroom running cases.

So, I would like to know how many of the cases assigned to her were actually went to trial vs a plea deal vs charges dropped? And of the cases that actually went to trial, how many of those cases ended with a conviction vs acquittal?

Iman said...

Resist we much!!! 🤡

Skipper said...

Will Tiny Tim be at her side?

Maynard said...

Cookie said:

There was a time when you had a veneer of respectability, but you have long since abandoned it with your silly BS. You really remind me of Marxist HS history teachers who make their best arguments to teenagers.

You are a fool who has absolutely no influence among thinking people. It is really quite sad because you have tried to portray yourself as an objective intellectual. You are pretty much in Inga territory.

Readering said...

Put another way, Trump has had success with people like you (go figure). But people like you have never added up to 50% So lots of hope for a well prepped Harris going into Tuesday's debate.

effinayright said...

So kammy's never given a successful speech or interview in her life, yet she's gonna destroy Trump in a debate. In what universe is this supposed to take place?

Maynard said...

It looks like I screwed up that last post.

Gk1 said...

I have watched most of those podcasts particularly Theo Vonn and do feel either it was his near assassination or perhaps mellowing with age his tone has changed. Trump will be a formidable debater much like when he dismantled Biden with just a look and spontaneous "Yeah you beat Medicare. You beat it to death". If Kamala doesn't fall on her face on the way to her podium the media will proclaim her the winner but she has an enormous amount of pressure to perform wll. Since she's a complete dumbshit, she has her work cut out for her.

Inga said...

Maynard sounds drunk again. Maynard never had any veneer of respectability, because respectable people don’t sexually harass women on the internet.

Gk1 said...

The fact she went through her white house staff like toilet paper should be red flags enough for most people. If you can't find washington creatures who can endure you when their life's blood is glomming on to the powerful's coat tails as long as they can, that speaks volumes about Kamala's character.

Gk1 said...

It wasn't so long ago these same media types were predicting Biden would mop the floor in the recent debate with Trump and with the successful lawfare in the works that republicans likely would need to scramble and find a new candidate, possibly a consensus pick of Mittens Romney? Like breezy assumptions of having "the boys home by Christmas" only to find themselves mired in a life or death struggle. The democrat's are now lowering expectations this time. Which is wise as Kamala is an obvious dumb shit who has been kept under wraps for good reason.

Inga said...

Maybe if you weren’t drunk you could’ve done it correctly.

mikee said...

God help the reporter who accurately describes on air something vague Trump says, as referring to the way Harris got her start with Willie Brown.

wendybar said...

Who is he sexually harassing??

Rusty said...

Cook would vote for Hitler.

Rusty said...

So Kamalas debate tactic is to attack Trump the person and not defend her, at this point non-existant, policies. Well. Non- existant except for diastorous price controls and her even more catastrophic tax on wealth.

Cappy said...

Pound #Resistance before #Resistance pounds you.

doctrev said...

Yes. People are trying to get Kamala Harris to out-alpha Trump, but that is the posturing of idiot lemmings. Trump has seen off Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and arguably Megyn Kelly. And defeated RDS/ Haley without actually debating them. By now -competent- politicians would realize that they are usually playing defense against Trump, and prepare accordingly.

But Harris is well beyond the Peter Principle, and after Tulsi Gabbard she knows it. Pulling out of the debate is really the only half viable option.

Yancey Ward said...

Maynard grabbed Inga's internet pussy apparently.

who-knew said...

The anti-Trump people on this thread believe (with some cause) that he is incoherent and speaks gibberish. But they all seem to forget that he's debating Kamala 'the significance of the passage of time' Harris. So that's a wash.

Bruce Hayden said...

I have found two types of people: those capable and comfortable with speaking and arguing spontaneously, and those who can’t. Most of the women in my life have been, or are, in the latter category. My ex hated speaking spontaneously, but won the extemporaneous speaking award, when we took Dale Carnegie together. It was something she could do well at, but hated. Luckily, our daughter had a very good PhD advisor, and after practicing every week for 5 years, knocked everyone’s socks off, in her PhD defense. Totally, loose, and able to swat away everything thrown at her. So, for someone who is fairly bright, it can be a learned trait. I think that her mother could have learned it, if she had ever had the same concentrated training. And, of course, Trump had that training and experience, in his various careers before politics. Imagine the presence of mind, after taking a bullet, standing up, raising his fist, and shouting “Fight”!

I have little doubt that Comrade Harris is being prepped, like Gerda suggested. And also, I expect her to try to cheat, like she did with Pence 4 years ago (throwing him off by repeatedly telling him that she was still speaking). She’s probably working hard on that too. Deep down though, she is a plodder. So, was Pence, to some extent. Trump is not.

Think of it this way. The two participants will be engaged, at some level, in psychological warfare with each other. Trying to break the other person’s concentration. The moderator should be trying to keep that in check. And we know that they will be trying to protect Comrade Harris. It was good enough to protect FJB. We shall see.

JIM said...

Democrat run media pinging a preemptive "don't expect much" missive to the faithful.