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I don't like watching politicians talking, but last night's debate seemed so high stakes that I really wanted to know how it went. I don't think I could have stuck with it on my own, but was fortunate enough to be invited to a small watching party with family and friends and some good wine to blunt the agony of listening to anything Donald Trump has to say. [Thanks, y'all!]
Our little group thought that Harris did just fine, but could have been better. It seemed like she spent too much time trying to evade her connection to Biden instead of emphasizing the very considerable achievements of his administration that she intends to carry forward, and connecting those to her own priorities. I would have liked to hear some numbers and specific examples of new jobs that have already been created by the Infrastructure Bill, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Instead of playing defense on fossil fuel jobs she could have emphasized the huge growth in renewable energy jobs, including massive investments in very red states. We liked her Moving Forward election slogan and the way she contrasted it with her opponent's obsessive focus on the past. But I would have liked to hear her emphasize that her very clear values and priorities are more important than detailed policy proposals that (as Trump correctly pointed out) have little chance of passing in a divided Congress. Values matter. Character matters. Trump has made his values and character very clear, and I would have liked to hear that stated a little more explicitly.
She took a more subtle approach to making that point by expertly baiting Trump into increasingly furious and incoherent ranting and rambling as the evening wore on while she maintained a calm and presidential demeanor. And of course, he took the bait every time and revealed himself once again as an unhinged and incoherent bully that nobody in their right mind would vote for. At least that's how he looked to us. But we weren't exactly neutral observers. So we finished up the evening unsure of how "the country" would rate the debate. Should Harris have responded to his [usually off-topic] responses instead of letting him get the last word every time? Were the moderators just playing into his hands by not muting his mike when he just wouldn't shut up? Was her perfectly controlled emotional affect TOO controlled (maybe even boring?). We didn't know.
So I'm relieved to see this morning that the general consensus among close political observers is that Harris resoundingly "won" the debate! Not just left-leaning commentators and the mainstream media that The Right usually dismisses as "radical left," but supposed supporters like Lindsey Graham and Fox News hosts.
As the dust settled, much of the right, instead of celebrating, lashed out at the debate’s ABC News moderators for occasionally having told viewers the truth.
[that's from MSNBC, not exactly a neutral observer. But they're right, that's how the Trump campaign responded].
Our little group thought that Harris did just fine, but could have been better. It seemed like she spent too much time trying to evade her connection to Biden instead of emphasizing the very considerable achievements of his administration that she intends to carry forward, and connecting those to her own priorities. I would have liked to hear some numbers and specific examples of new jobs that have already been created by the Infrastructure Bill, the CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Instead of playing defense on fossil fuel jobs she could have emphasized the huge growth in renewable energy jobs, including massive investments in very red states. We liked her Moving Forward election slogan and the way she contrasted it with her opponent's obsessive focus on the past. But I would have liked to hear her emphasize that her very clear values and priorities are more important than detailed policy proposals that (as Trump correctly pointed out) have little chance of passing in a divided Congress. Values matter. Character matters. Trump has made his values and character very clear, and I would have liked to hear that stated a little more explicitly.
She took a more subtle approach to making that point by expertly baiting Trump into increasingly furious and incoherent ranting and rambling as the evening wore on while she maintained a calm and presidential demeanor. And of course, he took the bait every time and revealed himself once again as an unhinged and incoherent bully that nobody in their right mind would vote for. At least that's how he looked to us. But we weren't exactly neutral observers. So we finished up the evening unsure of how "the country" would rate the debate. Should Harris have responded to his [usually off-topic] responses instead of letting him get the last word every time? Were the moderators just playing into his hands by not muting his mike when he just wouldn't shut up? Was her perfectly controlled emotional affect TOO controlled (maybe even boring?). We didn't know.
So I'm relieved to see this morning that the general consensus among close political observers is that Harris resoundingly "won" the debate! Not just left-leaning commentators and the mainstream media that The Right usually dismisses as "radical left," but supposed supporters like Lindsey Graham and Fox News hosts.
As the dust settled, much of the right, instead of celebrating, lashed out at the debate’s ABC News moderators for occasionally having told viewers the truth.
[that's from MSNBC, not exactly a neutral observer. But they're right, that's how the Trump campaign responded].
