Posted on 10/02/2020 6:42:46 AM PDT by Kaslin
Tuesday night's first presidential debate was not, to borrow the apt phrasing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., exactly on par with the Lincoln-Douglas contests of 1858. Democratic nominee Joe Biden's dispositional frailty, ignitable temper and pandering to his base of America-hating leftist insurrectionists were on galling display for all to see. But President Donald Trump, hamstrung by a two-front assault from an irascible foe and a most immoderate moderator, failed to persuade undecided suburban female voters with a performance best described as hectoring bordering on raw machismo. Trump's clear meritoriousness on the substantive issues unfortunately will be, to the extent it has not already been, all but overshadowed.
The calendar has moved to October; we are now one month away from an election that partisans of both sides feel is the most important one of our lifetimes. And with the stubborn, seemingly immovable national horserace polling average being what it is (and what it has been for most of this year), Trump must face reality: His political life is in grave peril, and there is a real risk he might become the first one-term president since George H.W. Bush. This is not exactly a novel insight, but, in the aftermath of Tuesday night's demoralizing performance, it is time for the president to start acting as if he understands the gravity the present moment requires.
Partisans of both sides are indeed correct: This is a tremendously important presidential election. The antifa/Black Lives Matter-dominated American left, to which Biden is clearly in hock following his dissembling nonanswers on such radical propositions as vindictive "packing" of the Supreme Court, has emerged as a historically destructive force in American political life. The leaders of these movements rarely conceal their dripping disdain for the American republic, waxing poetic about violent insurrection and regime overthrow, on the one hand, and the coercive implementation of a Marxist, racially divisive dystopia, on the other hand. These dyed-in-the-wool zealots, from which Biden and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris have made no attempt to credibly disassociate, represent an existential threat to the American regime and the American way of life.
By contrast, Trump, despite the hysterical howls of his sundry foes, has an innate, palpable love of the greatness of the United States of America. Amid the anarchic rampages gripping America's urban corridors and the delusional idiocy that was this summer's paeans to "defund the police," Trump delivered an impassioned Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore in righteous defense of what Lincoln so famously called the "last best hope of earth." More recently, in a nascent attempt to push back against the divisive, racist gobbledygook that is "critical race theory," Trump announced a long-overdue "1776 Commission" to promote patriotic education in America. The juxtaposition is striking: This election, as Claremont Institute Chairman Thomas D. Klingenstein recently wrote, amounts to a "choice between a man who believes America is good and a man who is controlled by a movement that believes America is bad."
Over the course of this presidency, Trump's approval ratings have generally dwindled while the national spotlight fixates upon his peculiarities and his sheer force of personality, and they have generally risen while the national spotlight hones in on the horror show that is the far left. Trump's closing argument in this election's final stanza must reflect this. While Trumpian excesses to rally the base at campaign events are expected (and perhaps beneficial), the president must make a concerted effort in subsequent debates, and perhaps in other oratory settings, to paint the starkest possible contrast between him and Biden on all the issues that matter to the American electorate.
Trump supports law and order and a restoration of the primacy of the rule of law; Biden, kowtowing to his party's leftmost flank, can barely condemn anarchic insurrection. Trump believes in the moral agency of the individual; Biden believes in intersectional group hierarchies and the pernicious myth of "systemic racism." Trump believes that the Chinese Communist Party is America's number one geopolitical foe this century; Biden has spent an entire career propping up that most rapacious and hegemonic of regimes. Trump believes in an immigration system, and an economy, that prioritizes the interests of the American citizen; Biden -- risible invocations of his blue-collar Scranton, Pennsylvania, upbringing to the contrary -- has spent decades as a leading shill for the sovereignty-undermining neoliberal order.
Yes, the polls were off in 2016 -- but they were not that far off. Trump supporters simply cannot look at the present state of polling and sleep well at night. It is high time for the president to fully grasp the magnitude of the current doldrums, focus on the high ground of substance and fight for his political life.
Hey Josh what is going on is beyond your comprehension. Be prepared for the unexpected!
I agree no one should be complacent or just blow off the polls but; “Yes, the polls were off in 2016 — but they were not that far off.” Really??
I remember listening to matthew dowd speak on the morning of the ‘16 election and he said based on the polls Donald Trump had as much chance of winning the election as a Canadian HS football team had of coming to America and beating an NFL team.
I’ll agree with the article. American elections often turn on ridiculous “issues”.
Do many “suburban women” have sh&&for brains? Oh yes they do.
You have to be a stone cold jackass to ignore a 4 year record vs a left wing takeover, because someone wasn’t “polite “.
But they do it all the time, and many right here On FR had the same child like reaction.
It’s POLICIES that matter, but not in elections.
Only idiots focus on those meaningless factors. Folks with intelligence look at the recovering economy, the incredible gear up to fight the Wuhan flu, peace in the Middle East, bringing troops home, More spendable income in everyone's pocket, 3 SCOTUS wins, and basically building everything back better from the disaster that Biden/Obama left us.
The polls were not that off in 2016. Period. There had been polls showing Trump winning or close in the swing states. This time I haven’t seen a leading or close poll in Pennsylvania.
Elections are always a personality contest - until the SHTF. It has and the ball is in Karen’s court. Good luck, America.
Poor title choice under the circumstances....
Trump has almost abandoned illegal immigration as an issue. That is a huge mistake.
He also never built an agenda for a second term.
Poor title choice under the circumstances....
GWB beat Kerry rather soundly in 2004, and Obama did the same to Romney in 2012. It just isn’t that easy to defeat an incumbent President. The Deep State’s huge failure was 2016 - it was the first time since 1988 that a candidate outside of their control won a major party nomination and actually stole “their” Presidency.
I agree no one should be complacent or just blow off the polls but; “Yes, the polls were off in 2016 — but they were not that far off.” Really??
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While no one should rest on their laurels, This guy is dead wrong when he says that polls “were not that far off”. I recall just a few days before the election, driving to work in the car, hearing about the impossibility of a Tump victory given Hillary’s statistical lead. The polls were not just a little bit off, they were way off. Does that mean Trump has it in the bag? Of course not, but if the polls can be that off once, they can be off again.
“Yes, the polls were off in 2016 — but they were not that far off.”
Yes they were. At this point in the election Trump was badly trailing Clinton everywhere. The polls only closed in the last few days and there is over a month to go before the election.
When the polls said that Trump had zero path to the EVs to win, something was off...
Polls, betting odds, etc. They are not science.
Secretariat was the prohibitive favorite at 1 to 10 odds. Onion was 5 to 1
“...President Donald Trump, hamstrung by a two-front assault from an irascible foe and a most immoderate moderator...”
I think the author is describing a ‘stylistic’ issue.
And right, Trump isn’t a silver tongued devil, and has never presumed to be. Anyone who expects that from him, or demanding that, is certainly mistaken about who and what this President is.
Style can go by the way, right now... and maybe for ever. I recall what I’ve read about President Truman and his speeches I’ve seen. THAT was not a silver tongue devil, EITHER.
However, Truman TOO had an honest, concise, no-nonsense and ‘straight-as-an-arrow’ mind. HIS ‘style’ was also direct and unambiguous. He got the job done and when the dust settled, HE was they guy you wanted at the helm, in a crisis. ..like President Trump
Ultimately, obviously, the only thing that matters is turnout, and turnout over the past few decades in the US is rarely over 60% of the eligible voting population.
The GOTV effort is was makes or brakes a campaign. Pres. Trump has two huge advantages over Biden.
* His voting base is highly motivated. Most know if he does *not* get reelected, the deep state will ensure a disruptor to the D.C. status quo *never* gets elected again.
* Pres. Trump has more people on the ground working to register people and more importantly make sure they vote than Biden. Lacking ground-game, the DNC vote strategy is to pump mail-in ballots into the system and then “harvest” them. But two can play the “harvesting” game.
Exactly. And one of the "experts" said Mrs. Bill Clinton would be the first president to get 500+ Electoral College votes.
Given today’s news, this headline is a bit in bad taste...
The author says Trump “should fight for his political life.”
Where has this jamoke been for the last FOUR YEARS?
All Trump does - every day - is take the fight directly to the enemy in a way no Republican in my (considerable) lifetime has ever done.
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