Some canned answers would have helped Trump

Me, last night: "Did he do any debate prep?"

Rich Lowry, today: "Is It Too Much to Ask That Trump Prepare for Debates?"

We’ve now had two presidential debates, and at neither one has Trump managed to say one specific thing about his economy (the stock market was up and inflation was low don’t really count). He hasn’t deployed one figure about how real wages were up in his first three years and have been stagnant under Biden-Harris — perhaps the best argument for himself. It’s all been foggy generalities.

Same on immigration, his signature issue. All he ever says is that millions of people are coming in, they commit crimes, and foreign countries are emptying their jails — over and over.

He never makes any arguments that are designed to convince anyone or that connect outcomes in his administration to his specific polices.

Trey Gowdy is right: this was a "Land of Missed Opportunities."  The very first thing Trump should have said on the economy question was a prepared response like: "When I left office, inflation was 1.4% and now four years later, after spiking to 9%, inflation is costing Americans 20% more for everything from bread to shampoo."  Solid, specific, and relevant to the concerns of Americans.  Instead, brother, I can't even remember what he said except for the Haitians eating cats.

I feel like his debate prep was "we'll wing it - it'll be fine."

Kamala won the debate

Are we going to pretend otherwise?  Yes, she lied several times and never answered several questions but she also effectively baited Trump who took the bait every time.  Kamala's answers were canned speeches, regurgitated on cue, but they were delivered with a smooth aplomb.  She had a plan to repeat her teleprompter speech and followed that plan.

Trump's responses were unstructured and unfocused, bouncing from one topic to another.  He had so many opportunities to push Kamala on her non-existent policies but couldn't stick the landing.  Trump got a question on immigration and - instead of driving home his most potent issue - he went into a diatribe about rally sizes.  Because of his ego.  Did he do any debate prep?

What's the point of complaining about the bias of ABC News?  (For example, they did the Candy Crowley to save Kamala early on but let the "very fine people" hoax pass without mention.)  All Republicans should assume that the mainstream media is going to put their thumb on the scale and prepare accordingly.

Will this change the trajectory of the race?  I dunno but I can see how some Americans would take a second look at Kamala.  Which is terrible news. 

Fight night!

Red State: "Kamala Harris Is Still Refusing Unscripted Interviews - Why? To Hide Her Insecurity and Incompetence."

There's some chatter and polls showing that Americans think Kamala will "win" the debate tonight.  If so, this would be the greatest rope-a-dope in political history.  Instead, Occam's razor applies: Kamala will fail in a public arena because she regularly fails in the public arena.  For example, after her disastrous interview with Lester Holt, Kamala didn't do another interview for an entire year.  Now we're supposed to expect her to spring to life?  Good luck with all that. 

Afterthought - What's the over/under for Kamala to shoehorn in an "I'm speaking" moment?  I'm guessing 20 minutes.

Also - Trump should come out, act confused, and ask: "Where's Joe?"

Clear as mud

COMMERCE SEC. RAIMONDO: "She's been crystal clear on her values...She talks to people!"

CNBC: "She hasn't talked to the press, Gina...She sat down for one interview that was taped...It has been a masterclass in avoiding any questions!" pic.twitter.com/sD9keyG2l9

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 9, 2024

That has been memory-holed

We've always been at war with Oceania.  Byron York: "Remember when Democrats (and everybody else) thought Kamala Harris was a bad vice president?" 

Another magazine broken by Trump

Twitchy: "Check Out The Atlantic Cover Meant to Make Donald Trump Seem Scary, but Makes Him Look Badass Instead."

Show me on this doll where Donald Trump hurt you, Atlantic.  Sheesh, another magazine that I used to subscribe to has succumbed completely to TDS.

Say nothing

Federalist: "Harris And Walz Avoiding The Press Isn’t A Savvy Campaign Strategy — They’re Just Cowards - Even The New York Times thinks Kamala Harris’ answers are ‘vague’ and ‘vacuous’ — why is someone this scared of opening her mouth running for president?" 

In vino veritas

Hot Air: "DOJ Public Affairs Chief Says Alvin Bragg's Case Against Trump Was 'A Perversion of Justice'."  We know, brother, we know.

Wow, the Boston Globe published this?

Boston Globe: "Admit it, Democrats — Greg Abbott was right about the border - The Texas governor warned that President Biden’s lax border policies were unsustainable. Now, as Massachusetts and other blue states buckle under the costs of migrant housing, he’s been vindicated." 

Acknowledging the administration had the power all along to stop the flow:

But for blue state leaders to now act like the Biden administration had no agency, beyond being able to provide funding to struggling states and cities, allowed the administration to dodge accountability for too long. That the administration announced an executive order in June limiting asylum claims, which has been followed by lower numbers at the border, proves it does have agency — and did all along.

The past year could have been, and could still be, a reality check for Democratic leaders away from the border. What Abbott did by shipping migrants to blue states on buses — a distasteful stunt — did expose the hypocrisy of Democrats who expected border states to be endlessly welcoming but weren’t prepared to write blank checks themselves.

Who's the racist now?

When price controls failed

Like they do every time: "The ‘Beefsteak Election’: When Meat Changed the Course of American Politics." 

That's Bidenomics, baby!

PJ Media: "The August Jobs Report Is Bad, July’s Decline Far Worse Than Reported."

The markets responded accordingly.  CNBC: "S&P 500 tumbles Friday to post worst week since 2023, Nasdaq drops 2% for worst weekly performance since 2022."  

Uh-oh, looks like you're going to have to beat him at the ballot box

Lawfare misfire: "Merchan Delays Trump Sentencing -- and Immunity Review -- Past Election Day." 

EV mandate? Never heard of it

Outkick: "Kamala Harris Now Against Electric Car Mandate After Proposing An Electric Car Mandate."

Hunter awaits Papa's pardon

Fox News: "Hunter Biden pleads guilty to all nine federal tax charges brought by special counsel David Weiss."

Hunter tried to make an Alford plea but the prosecution wasn't going for that so he entered a guilty plea for all counts.  If you're wondering why Hunter didn't try to negotiate a plea deal, Andrew McCarthy explains what's going on:

First, Hunter’s move is rational only if he knows he is getting a pardon. The tax indictment charges him with multiple counts that, if memory serves, could run to 17 years of imprisonment. A normal defendant engages in plea negotiations in order to minimize his potential penal exposure — you offer to plead guilty to a count or two, and the government agrees to dismiss the rest of the charges, and your potential imprisonment is capped. That’s not what Hunter is doing. He’s saying he’ll plead guilty to all charges. He can only be doing that because he’s playing with the house money — he knows he’s not going to prison, so he doesn’t need to worry about capping his potential sentence.

There is zero chance that Dementia Joe will keep his promise not to pardon Hunter.  Sentencing is December 16th which means he'll be home for Christmas although Joe might wait until January 19th just to maintain some suspense.  

The Left hates free speech

David Harsanyi: "Kamala Harris’s banana republic on free speech"

In 2019, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN’s Jake Tapper that social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.”

Does it?

Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.

If there's free speech, somebody might ask Kamala about her policies.  Can't have that.

Extra - Powerline: "Free speech for her."  Not for you.

Man, did I pick the wrong time to buy NVDA

Investor's Business Daily: "Record Nvidia Sell-Off Fuels Market Expectations Breaker; What To Do Now."  What to do?  Hold on for the ride, I guess. 

KJP is back

The worst press secretary in history is back to her old ways: "White House falsely claims grocery prices have ‘come down’ under Biden — while Harris revives price-gouging claim." 

Switchblades and nunchucks for all

Reason: "Massachusetts Switchblade Ban Overturned on Second Amendment Grounds = The Second Amendment doesn’t protect guns; it protects the human right to self-defense." 

Kamala won't debate

Kurt Schlichter: "Dodging The Debate Would Be Smart Because Kamala Isn’t"

But putting that aside, Kamala has got a problem. It’s a big problem. She’s not very smart. The only thing she is smart about is knowing that she’s not smart. She knows enough not to speak extemporaneously. She knows enough not to be interviewed. And I suspect she knows enough not to debate.

I only learned yesterday that the Harris campaign has not officially agreed to the ABC News debate with Trump because they don't agree to the muted-mic rule.  Looks like they're keeping this in the back pocket as a pretense to back out.  So much for the "say it to my face" bravado.

This is what happens when the media treats you with kid gloves and invents a persona that is far from the truth.  Because when Kamala crashes into Trump, he's not going to her to weasel out of her past statements, flip-flops, and horrible record particularly as Border Czar.  Interviews and press conferences steel a candidate for debates but Kamala won't do those either.

Disclaimer: I was wrong about Biden dropping out of the debate but I was really right.

Sure, let's keep talking about Afghanistan

Powerline: "The Democrats swing and miss"

If the Democrats were smart, they would avoid like the plague any reference to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. It was universally, and correctly, seen as a debacle, and the Afghanistan fiasco precipitated a drop in Biden’s approval ratings from which he never recovered. Normal observers see that the current controversy was stirred up by the Democrats in hopes of political gain. The controversy, kept alive by Democrats, mostly serves to remind voters of one of the Biden/Harris administration’s worst failures, and to tie that failure more securely to Kamala Harris.

Let's juxtapose the videos from the Gold Star families with Biden checking his wristwatch.