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MY WISH FOR TONIGHT'S DEBATE
The general consensus among commentators, columnists, correspondents, pols, pundits,
...and my Wednesday morning Posse - now online Posse - political junkies all,
...is that tonight's debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be akin to a sporting event, and blood sport at that.
Will Trump land a haymaker and sweep the floor with Biden? Will Biden choke, sputter, and wilt under Trump's verbal assaults? Or will Biden, nimble-tongued and steeped in strategy, side-step and out-maneuver Trump and leave him drowning in his own bombast?
And so tonight at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time millions of Americans will be sitting on the edge of our sofas, glued to our TV sets to watch the fight and by tomorrow morning, after the dust has settled - or the gore mopped up - and the post-match analysis done, the winner will be announced.
The irony, of course is that it's unlikely that the outcome of tonight's debate, if it comes off as expected, will make any real difference to most voters. Remember the Democratic Primary debates, at the beginning of which there were close to two dozen energetic, exciting, articulate candidates bursting with innovative ideas, and then there was good old Joe Biden who could barely make his voice heard among them?
Will Trump land a haymaker and sweep the floor with Biden? Will Biden choke, sputter, and wilt under Trump's verbal assaults? Or will Biden, nimble-tongued and steeped in strategy, side-step and out-maneuver Trump and leave him drowning in his own bombast?
And so tonight at 9 pm Eastern Standard Time millions of Americans will be sitting on the edge of our sofas, glued to our TV sets to watch the fight and by tomorrow morning, after the dust has settled - or the gore mopped up - and the post-match analysis done, the winner will be announced.
The irony, of course is that it's unlikely that the outcome of tonight's debate, if it comes off as expected, will make any real difference to most voters. Remember the Democratic Primary debates, at the beginning of which there were close to two dozen energetic, exciting, articulate candidates bursting with innovative ideas, and then there was good old Joe Biden who could barely make his voice heard among them?
Turned out the voters didn't want articulate, energetic, exciting, or innovative. They wanted good old Joe Biden. And so it will go tonight. Those who want Joe Biden will still want him even if he talks himself into a pretzel or gets blown down by Donald Trump, and those who want Donald Trump will still want him even if he come across looking like Bozo the Clown on mega- or should I say MAGA -steroids.
So why bother? What purpose is served at this point by a debate that as of now promises to be nothing more than a nasty, possibly excruciating, spectacle?
And yet, if I could have my wish, tonight's debate would play out not as a slug-fest, but as a feast of facts, plans, platforms and ideas.
I'd like to hear Joe Biden present and enlarge upon his plans in detail: his plans for affordable health care, for dealing with climate change, environmental issues, racial justice, and the economy, among other things, and, most importantly at the moment, his plan for dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic.
So why bother? What purpose is served at this point by a debate that as of now promises to be nothing more than a nasty, possibly excruciating, spectacle?
And yet, if I could have my wish, tonight's debate would play out not as a slug-fest, but as a feast of facts, plans, platforms and ideas.
I'd like to hear Joe Biden present and enlarge upon his plans in detail: his plans for affordable health care, for dealing with climate change, environmental issues, racial justice, and the economy, among other things, and, most importantly at the moment, his plan for dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic.
I'd like to hear Donald Trump talk about what his plans and policies would be going forward, should he win a second term.
I'd like to hear lots of straightforward "yes's" and "no's" to the moderator's questions. I'd love it if the candidates could stay civil, not talk over each other and courteously yield when their time is up. (This last wish is, of course, directed towards the candidate with the reputation for the rude habit, among other rude habits, of talking over other people).
Naturally, I don't expect my wishes for tonight's debate to come true. But one never knows. Things don't always go as expected.
I think, though, that I would like to offer Joe Biden a piece of advice for tonight: Mr. Vice-President, whatever subject you opt to broach, don't bring up yesterday's bombshell news about Donald Trump's tax returns. He'll be expecting you to bring up his taxes and he'll be armed to the hilt and just spoiling to use your words against you. So don't give him the chance. Besides, we don't need you to bring up that Donald Trump doesn't pay his taxes. We know, already, we know.
I think, though, that I would like to offer Joe Biden a piece of advice for tonight: Mr. Vice-President, whatever subject you opt to broach, don't bring up yesterday's bombshell news about Donald Trump's tax returns. He'll be expecting you to bring up his taxes and he'll be armed to the hilt and just spoiling to use your words against you. So don't give him the chance. Besides, we don't need you to bring up that Donald Trump doesn't pay his taxes. We know, already, we know.
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