Last Night's Debate Was a Flop

It's the one thing I dislike the most about Trump, even though I support him and will vote for him. I know what his positions are, and I have a good idea what the country will look like if he goes back to the White House for another four years.

But all too often he simply misses golden opportunities to convey certain messages Americans need to hear. Especially those who are independent or undecided voters.

The debate last night was mediocre at best. I don't think it served to do much to change the course or move any needles. For either candidate, by the way. This was not really a debate for Democrats or Republicans who have already made up their minds. This debate was for those who are still on the fence.

To be fair, this debate was more for those voters who are mostly on the fence about Harris more than Trump. People already know who Donald Trump is and they have the past four years when he was president to go on. They have heard the messages, seen the interviews, and watched the rallies.

Trump is far from a mystery.

But that leads me to asking what in the hell was on the mind of ABC when they asked the questions? Especially the ones they asked Harris. It's not a mystery that the Kamala Harris front and center today is not the same Kamala Harris we saw for the past 3 1/2 years, and I think ABC should have dug more into that.

What the American people wanted to know was, "What is that you want to say to the American people to separate yourself from...yourself, and the positions you held for so long, and what changed your mind? Are these a change of heart that you are truly committed to now, or did you simply change your positions for political reasons? If you felt, before the nomination, that your positions may be unpopular and perhaps make you unelectable considering how radical some of them were, how can we now be assured you don't still hold these positions personally while stating different positions publicly?"

On top of that, she kept saying, "We're going to do this," and "We're going to do that." But when did ABC challenge her on those statements and ask, "Where were you for the past 3 1/2 years when all of these problems you say are problems happened under your watch alongside Biden?"

Why did they not challenge her about lying to the American people about President Biden's health? Because isn't that an important thing to consider? If you are fit to be Commander in Chief, shouldn't you be able to recognize a grave threat that comes from within the White House itself that poses danger to American lives and the state of the country?

If you would hide that, what else might you hide?

ABC could have and should have challenged her on the "record." For example, they could have asked her about one of the key concerns on most American's minds. Inflation. They could have challenged her on her claims of price gouging which everyone knows was not the reason inflation happened. They could have asked her how she plans to tackle inflation differently than Biden has.

And why did ABC not put her to task more on the border? Another key issue of concern to voters across both aisles. Why did they not press her harder on the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal which cost American lives and left billions of dollars worth of American military equipment on the ground and in the hands of the Taliban? Why not push her more on what happened and what her thoughts were on the breakdown of communication between her and Putin and Zelinsky that resulted in Putin invading Ukraine anyway?

They didn't ask her much about the economy. And when she made the claim several times that Trump's plans would cost American's $4,000 more a year to afford, why didn't they remind her of the additional $11,000 Americans must spend annually to pay for inflation, and what impact she feels that has had?

Needless to say, many opportunities were lost here. But on both sides. ABC missed the opportunity to give us a better picture of what can only be classified as, "The new and improved Kamala Harris." But Trump missed many opportunities as well to clearly state his differences and convey a stronger message to rebuke many of Harris' claims and position shifts.

Overall, neither candidate did well in my opinion. Still, I think Trump won it. But not on substance. He won it simply because there are fewer questions we need to have answered by Trump than need to be answered by Harris. Harris was the focus here. And we didn't really learn much about her at all. For that reason, I contend she lost, because the things the independents and undecideds wanted to know were simply all questions left unanswered.

She delivered talking points and campaign slogans rather than offer solutions or explanations of her sudden change in ideology on myriad issues.

Fox News has offered an invite for a second debate in October. I think both candidates need to agree to it, because I think both candidates did not accomplish their goal on this one.

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© 2024 Jim Bauer

The Debate is Critical for Both Candidates

So, folks. We have a debate. For emphasis, you need to say that like the Arby's, "We have the meats," guy. The scheduled debate, which will air on ABC, will be held on September 10th between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, and I have to say, it will either be a defining moment for one or the other or an end to the honeymoon period Harris has enjoyed since Biden announced he would be stepping out of the race, making Harris the presumptive nominee for the Democrat party.

What will be interesting first and foremost, for me, will be how well Kamala Harris, unscripted and without a teleprompter, can command her words. She is, of course, well known for her many word salads, and from what we have seen in previous debates, she typically does not perform well in that setting.

In the Democrat primary debates leading up to the 2020 presidential election she never even made it to Iowa before being forced to drop out of the race.

The key thing for me is that Trump needs to maintain a sharp focus on the issues, especially the ones he is winning on, according to all polls. Those would be inflation, the economy, and the border. Regardless of how Kamala Harris tries to sell the success of so-called, "Bidenomics," the American people already know that it didn't work.

Trump needs to dial in on that and make it clear that it didn't work, and why. 

As for Kamala Harris, the hurdles for her are many fold considering that among former vice presidents, her favorability ratings were literally in the tank, and she trailed far behind even Joe Biden's. She's not a likeable person. If she cackles one time too many, it's going to make her appear as she has appeared in the past.

Out of touch and a little bit unhinged, and not to mention, not a serious person.

The thing is that this is "a moment" for Kamala Harris to try to erase any preconceived ideas about her, which she has largely been able to duck a bit from since the announcement of Biden stepping down. She's made no major media appearances and held no interviews. So, aside from some very well scripted rally venues, this will be the first time following Biden's departure that the American people will get to see, what presumably would be an attempt to showcase, a newly refined Kamala Harris, complete with some policies she is trying to distance herself from.

Including her own policy stances, by the way, which by even the most conservative measure are so far left, a walk to the center would take years.

She's going to try to deliver two direct messages, "I am not Donald Trump, but I am also not Joe Biden."

The first one is an easy one, of course. But what about the second one? For the past going on four years, Harris told the American people Biden was doing a remarkable job and touted success after success of the Biden administration, even joining in on the big stretch lie that Joe Biden is a president who accomplished more than any other president in past history.

The problem is, if she distances herself too far from Biden's policies, it is a de facto admission of sorts that it was all a big lie. Granted, she might get a small pass considering she was, of course, the vice president. But she still went along with the program, and she still owns the policies of the man she served under.

This inflation, this economy, and this border are all hers. Not only does she need to explain to the American people what her plans are to fix these issues, she needs to explain why they are issues after four years of her time in office.

If ABC asks the right questions, maybe we get to hear what she has to say about that. But it's the media, and if there's one thing you can bet, they probably won't ask the right questions. 

Either way, both candidates have a major opportunity to make an appeal for their cause, and both candidates, admittedly, have some issues in that regard. This debate, I think, has far more importance than the previous one held between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The outcome of it, I think, determines the election, and because of that, both candidates have to be at the highest level of their game ever in their political careers.

Everything is at stake on September 10th for their future prospects. Literally, everything. Especially considering, I believe this may be one of the most watched debates ever in the history of American debates.

All eyes will be on. Neither one can lose sight of that. Especially Trump.

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© 2024 Jim Bauer