09-27-2016, 11:42 PM
(09-27-2016, 10:39 AM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote:(09-27-2016, 08:51 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: The first presidential debate is in the books. And, more than anything else, it brought to mind a boxing match. Trump successfully bobbed and weaved for the first 20 minutes and had Hillary Clinton on her heels. This meant that the first round or two went to him. But then Clinton found her rhythm, and landed a series of body blows, leaving Trump punch drunk and almost completely off his game. All of the subsequent rounds went to her, giving her a clear-cut win by decision... (Snip)
The above reflects my view of things and seems typical of the main stream press's spin.
CNN's headline reads "Trump Loses His Cool" which seems inaccurate only in that he's never had much in the way of 'cool'. Trump was being Trump, thin skinned and angry. A lot of times in a presidential debate a candidate can spot flaws and change his presentation. Many reviews of the first debate suggest not reading too much into them as the losing candidate can visit his debate coaches and change up what didn't work. I don't know that Trump will be good at that. His strength is his personality. He doesn't do particularly well when he tries to change up, and he doesn't stick with the change. He ends up reverting to form. It's a form that attracts a good number of Republican base voters. It's a form that has served him well. I don't know that he'll lost much being himself, but he'll have trouble gaining.
"Thin-skinned and angry" -- much like medieval kings who started destructive wars over what now seem minor slights. Just imagine the catastrophes possible in foreign policy.
Donald Trump's performance was execrable. But there are people who like their politics that way. Donald Trump tells many what they want to hear... maybe his ideology is to my political values what Ultimate Fighting is to my taste in sports. As you can imagine, I can't stand that ugly spectacle. But it has its fans. Donald Trump's rhetoric and behavior have their fans.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
