I stopped on the way home from the gym and dojo this evening and picked up some takeout. The young man at the restaurant working the register asked if I was going to watch the debate. I said most likely yes, not that the debate itself is likely to matter to around 90% of the population. He replied with “yep, its not like there’s really a choice, each one is bad. So who are you supporting?” I told him that was the wrong question to ask. Without going into my extended resume, I explained that I work on defense and security policy and strategy and explained that there is really only one thing to watch for tonight, as well as at the follow on debates, and all the campaign rallies. What you should be watching for is for the candidate to delineate what their policy is for each issue they are asked about, then for their strategy – the ways and means – to achieve those policy objectives. And then what you want to think about is are those feasible (do the means make sense), are they acceptable (can it be gotten through Congress, will the US citizenry support it), and are they suitable (will they actually resolve the problem). And I said this was important because no matter what the news reporters or analysts or pundits tell you, this isn’t about who you want to have a burger and a beer with, because you’re never going to have a burger and a beer with the President or any other candidate. I finished by explaining that if you’re the candidate claiming that you are promoting change, than you have to delineate and lay out what that change means and how to achieve it. That this is what President Obama did in 2008, even if you didn’t agree then/don’t agree now with what those changes are. And this is what Governor Romney did in 2012. What President Obama proposed in 2008 resonated with enough voters to get him elected, what Governor Romney proposed in 20102 didn’t. And if a candidate just calls for change, but can’t actually articulate what that alternative system would be – domestic or global – and a coherent strategy to get there, then that should tell you something. So you have to ask yourself: which one of these two candidates have a plan, has articulated policies, and has delineated strategies and which one doesn’t. I then took my takeout order and headed home.
Reader Interactions
359Comments
Comments are closed.
Omnes Omnibus
Worst tipper ever.
satby
And he probably didn’t grasp a word of that.
Baud
I support Clinton, punk.
Tom Levenson
a) Good on ya, mate!
b) How long a line had accumulated behind you as you explained to your young friend the basic rules for living, and what DefCon status had they triggered by the time you finished?
satby
@Baud: see Adam? Easy-peasy.
lamh36
God bless you Adam…I’ve become too tired to even try to do what you did with young folks now adays.
I will NOT be watching the debate tonight. I’ve got a big day tomorrow and my mind is focused on that right now. And the last thing I want on my mind before going to bed is DJT voice in my head…ugh.
My sis and Zoe came to hang today so I’ll try to follow along on here and elsewhere on social media, but ya’ll will understand if I spend the majority of my time hanging with Zoe
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: Actually I tipped 20% for a takeout order.
satby
What I’m watching tonight is the new season of Longmire on Netflix. My stomach can’t handle Drumpf in any dose, no matter how small. I’m confident you all have got this covered.
BR
Adam, maybe we need to send you on a pre-election roadshow to talk some sense into young men everywhere.
Adam L Silverman
@satby: Actually he thanked me and said he wished more people would explain this stuff to Americans. We’re talking about a guy in his 20s. This is either his first or second presidential election.
piratedan
any chance that MoDo simply codes out in an apoplectic fit or will she wait until after Hilary is elected?
over/under on NBC following the same idiotic moderator game plan?
Mike J
Do you think Trump supporters gave him 2000 words on how to choose? When he tells people, “lot of people talking about the debate at work tonight, most of them seemed to support X”, which answer will get X filled in the way you want?
Adam L Silverman
@Tom Levenson: No line. When some others came in to pick up take out I shut up so they could get their orders. I got there, as I was on my way home, before my order was ready.
Chris
So… you think he bought it?
BR
Also, I’m told (not being from the South) that there’s a certain deference young men are expected to give to older men in the South, especially military men. I don’t have any idea if that’s true, but if so, Adam you might even be a more powerful spokesman for common sense in Florida than anywhere else in the country.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Adam L Silverman: you’re making the rest of us look bad. I never know how much to tip for carry out
Smiling Mortician
This feels so much like how I respond to my students (college freshmen and sophomores) when they ask similar questions or make similar statements. And people think that higher education has no real-world applications.
Chris
@Adam L Silverman:
Oh, wonderful.
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: I put on the hazmat suit and picked it out for you.
lamh36
duplicated
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: More likely trying to catch Zoe!
Elizabelle
Good evening.
I have wondered why some of the BJuice posters have been demoralized about the election, and in a panic about polls.
And then this afternoon I heard Mara Liasson on NPR. Assuring us the polls are neck and neck, and salivating over it. i did not last 40 seconds. I rued I had no overripe tomatoes to fling in her direction.
Horrible woman. No further NPR. Strictly rock and roll.
Fuck Mara Liasson. NPR — you made me wish I could get the money I have given you years ago back, and that I could hit you with my collection of Sherlock Holmes books.
lamh36
@Adam L Silverman: thx for always saving my comments…lol.
I don’t know what it is…I think it’s cause I use Trump’s initials?
Alain the site fixer
Great job Adam! Afraid I’ll miss the live debate;at Nozze di Figaro and it’s sublime! I’ll be on later hope
the site cooperates!
PsiFighter37
Hype music is in full swing. Getting pumped and drunk for this.
PF37 +2
lamh36
@Adam L Silverman: Yes…she’s still running…lol
But I do plan to follow along if I can…what the alotted time for the debate?
redshirt
So, like… what dude?
Adam L Silverman
@piratedan: Andrew Lack is Holt’s supervisor, just like he is Lauer’s. He gave Lauer very specific instructions on what to ask Clinton about and to move her along on her answers. Until NBC starts to leak like a sieve tomorrow, we won’t know what orders he gave Holt, but I expect that Lack learned nothing from the CIC Forum.
Adam L Silverman
Guilianni looks like Count Von Orlock!
WereBear
Awesome work, sir! And nice tipping.
quakerinabasement
“What you should be watching for is for the candidate to delineate what their policy is for each issue they are asked about, then for their strategy – the ways and means – to achieve those policy objectives. And then what you want to think about is are those feasible (do the means make sense), are they acceptable (can it be gotten through Congress, will the US citizenry support it), and are they suitable (will they actually resolve the problem).”
Additionally, you may safely ignore any reporter or pundit who pretends to explain a candidate’s position without using any of these relevant words or their close relatives: objectives, ways, means, feasible, acceptable, and suitable.
hovercraft
The entire Trump crime family stalks in.
Hal
I know who I’m voting for and can’t stand watching Trump for an hour and a half so
I’m eating some chili, having a glass of wine and streaming some Golden Girls before going to bed. I’ll check back in the morning.
Adam L Silverman
@Chris: I don’t tell people who to vote for.
Mnemosyne
@lamh36:
I’ve heard stories from people I know with kids, and I’m just saying, don’t be surprised if you go to the fridge for a Coke and find Miss Zoe hanging out on top of it. Walking leads to climbing, and climbing leads to near cardiac arrest for parents and aunties!
Adam L Silverman
@BR: From his accent he’s not from the South. Also, I never identified as military, I’m not in the military and have never claimed to be. I was wearing a sweaty moisture wicking t shirt and gym shorts.
Keith G
If you are a facebooker Keepin It 1600 Live Posted by The Ringer, has live streaming discussions before, during, and after. That includes fmr Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vieter, and Jon Lovett. They have a fmr JEB? staffer on hand as a punching bag, and a fmr HRC SoS staffer.
This is a funny, good watch.
Omnes Omnibus
@Adam L Silverman: Disparagement cheerfully withdrawn.
Adam L Silverman
@Alain the site fixer: Did you get my email over the weekend?
RSP
Hitlery is doomed!! Look at the polls that I dishonestly cite! She should just concede right now, because you know, the race might be close and of course that means she’ll lose.
dmsilev
OK, so here we go.
Trump. Sigh.
lamh36
#Debate Prediction: HRC,calm, cool, collected, knowledgable
DJT: zinger, zinger, BS, zinger
Media: DJT…winner
Reaction from us all…
Elizabelle
Eating chili with rice and drinking an insipid Tempranillo that’s kind of sweet. Flavor of cherries. Diluted it with 25% water, and it’s better. (In fairness to the Tempranillo, it was kept in a car trunk in Florida, so it probably cooked. But still …)
Friend made the chili and is hosting. We’re watching MSNBC, but reserve the right to flee if they talk over too much.
Mnemosyne
@Alain the site fixer:
Super jealous! That’s probably my favorite opera.
I’m trying to talk the spouse into seeing “The Abduction from the Seraglio” — the LA Opera’s staging will be 1920s on the Orient Express.
PsiFighter37
READY TO RUMBLE!
Crush him, Hillary
MomSense
Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh. The tension is unbearable.
Mnemosyne
Heading over to my friend’s place for tacos and debate watching. Hopefully no tacos will be thrown at the TV.
Elizabelle
@Mnemosyne: Proud of you for staying over in Las Vegas.
In a hotel full of clowns. With good steak. But it’s good to spend a bit extra time at the doors. Yea Mnemo.
rk
I’m not going to watch. I can’t bear it. I have no sense of anything anything anyway. Things which seem obvious to me seem to be are not that obvious to a majority of people. I thought Gore won the debate (everyone else said Bush), I thought it was obvious Bush was/is an idiot. The country elected him twice. I thought Obama did fine in the first debate. Everyone thought otherwise. I think Trump is a moron and he has comes off as horrible on TV and he is so far beneath Hillary that it’s an insult for her to breath the same air as him. Yet the media and a large number of people are behaving as if he is a viable choice for president and the votes are close. So I occupy an alternate reality and am not going to watch as the whole thing is actually making me physically sick.
Alain the site fixer
@Adam L Silverman: I did. I’ll respond tomorrow as it confused me a bit. But yes I want to improve that for authors!
Mike J
Annoyed that an input file format changed over the weekend and broke everything downstream. So now I’m sitting here doing the most boring scut work imaginable basically just reparsing the file and making all the existing variables point to the right undocumented part of a file that magically appears in the middle of the night every night. Grrr. No challenge, annoying as fuck getting fifty fields into vars, and it all worked Friday.
Smiling Mortician
It’s creepy listening to Lester Holt breathe and grumble (C-SPAN). Start this thing.
Adam L Silverman
@lamh36: 1 minute till start.
PsiFighter37
Starting late? 2 minutes past 9 now…
quakerinabasement
@Elizabelle: I agree. Liasson is one of the worst about reporting the horse race instead of the issues. A couple of weeks ago, I heard her reporting that Trump had the advantage of being “the change candidate in a change election,” and describing Clinton as the incument, identical language to what is used at Breitbart and other righty outlets.
Adam L Silverman
@quakerinabasement: Without a doubt!
Mary G
I am going to try to watch. Not sure how far I can get.
Travels with Charley
I’m watching! I dread it, but I feel if she has to live through the next 90″, the least I can do is watch in my Jammie’s, with a drink & clutching my poodles for comfort.
Smiling Mortician
Here we go.
dmsilev
Hopefully the rules include electroshock collars for when Trump goes too far off the rails.
redshirt
I feel dread.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I’m watching on Bloomberg, they’ve got Halperin and Heilman on, blech. I saw a blurb that GEC is going to by Twitter; hmmm.
Credenzal Jocularity
If nothing else, this Lester Holt guy has a wonderfully sonorous voice.
Elizabelle
I like Lester Holt, even though he is with the accursed NBC. I don’t even think he’s a serious Republican. Guessing he registered that way to vote in a primary.
Yes. I grade on a curve.
dmsilev
Red pantsuit, blue tie. At least they’re color-coordinated.
Adam L Silverman
@Alain the site fixer: Cole appears to be able to do it, he did one of those embeds. But every time I try it doesn’t work. We may have to do a phone confab…
Baud
Red! She’s going after GOP moderates.
Omnes Omnibus
Her hands are as big as his.
Corner Stone
Red pantsuit. SWOONNNSSS!!
different-church-lady
@Travels with Charley: I think she can last 90 seconds.
Perhaps you meant 90′.
PsiFighter37
GAME ON
Adam L Silverman
@PsiFighter37: The rules/statement from Hofstra’s president ran long so they moved the start back to 9:03.
Elizabelle
Achieving prosperity. Jawbs.
dmsilev
Hillary pandering to Big Grandchild!
Bobby Thomson
That’s a little wordy. My answer would have been a pithy “Trump’s a Nazi.”
Everything else seems irrelevant.
Elizabelle
@Adam L Silverman: They gonna run it to 10:33 p?
Smiling Mortician
Lester explains simple economic stuff, Hillary listens & understands. Donald’s thinking “Um, what?”
different-church-lady
@Elizabelle: Jorbs.
SFAW
Bill Kristol tweeted (pre-debate):
With all the “Who knows?” caveats, a debate prediction: A clear HRC win, as she comes to play & is cool, calm & collected; DJT flails about.
We are SO fucked
Adam L Silverman
@Elizabelle: I guess.
debit
Hillary looks and sounds great.
ETA: And Donald starts out with a lie.
ETA2: Childcare? WTF?
p.a.
“Honey, why is the takeout cold?”
dmsilev
Trump switching between smug and “I is determined businessman” looks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Trump sounds low energy.
socraticsilence
Sent my staffers to various watch parties and ducked out of attending one with Kaine, really, really, nervous right now.
different-church-lady
@Smiling Mortician: “This is a nickle. It is worth 5 cents. There are things called banks. If I put the nickle in the bank, the bank will charge me a dollar…”
Corner Stone
@dmsilev: Gawd. Big Grandchild. We’re doomed.
dmsilev
OK, so that Ford statement is a lie. 20 seconds in, well done Donald!
Elizabelle
Fear, fear, fear. Fleeing jobs.
But I can see that resonating with his discouraged voters.
Got to say, Trump is more conversational. It’s his strength. But only for so long ….
The Pale Scot
Hemming and Hawing… Nope, I can’t watch, not when
is on iPlayer,
M Richards is a paragon of lucidity compared to the twit.
Smiling Mortician
Whoa. He’s relying on his OLD debunked lies. He really didn’t prep at all.
Immanentize
@Corner Stone: very very red.
Mary G
Both are trotting out the stump speech.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Jobs leaving Ohio, that’s not what Kay tells me(I believe Kay).
dmsilev
@?BillinGlendaleCA: His staff has probably drugged him. It’s the sensible thing to do.
SFAW
I keep trying (unsuccessfully) to cut-and-paste a Kristol Tweet, wherein he predicts Hillary crushing Trump, but I guess I’m doing it worng.
Be that as it may: if he’s true to form, we are SO fucked
jacy
He is just blathering. Good gravy.
PsiFighter37
Hit him on stiffing his own workers and building shit overseas! Do it on the response!!!
socraticsilence
Trump sounds like he’s talking to 5 year olds, its his cadence and word choice “so many plants, so big, so good.”
“Our companies”
Wait, is Trump proposing nationalization? Viva la revolucion.
Smiling Mortician
@different-church-lady: Wait. What was that middle thing?
?BillinGlendaleCA
Voodoo Economics!
Trumped up, trickle down!
debbie
@dmsilev:
A FB friend says Melania is wearing a cocktail dress. Classy.
Woodrowfan
so, how many lies has Trump told so far.
debit
Trumped up trickle down. Hah!
Elizabelle
Excellent.
Talk about trickle down — people understand that.
Trumped up trickle down. Brilliant.
Omnes Omnibus
Trumped-up trickle down.
Smiling Mortician
She keeps calling him Donald.
Ooh, Trumped-up trickle-down.
dmsilev
Ooh, a dig at Donald getting bankrolled by daddy.
khead
I’m pretty good after the opening question. No, really.
PsiFighter37
Hit him on building his own stuff overseas!!!!
Credenzal Jocularity
Trumped up trickle down. Zing!
ETA: erm, slow. Youse guys is professionals.
? Martin
How does the unemployment rate falling square with jobs leaving?
divF
@Woodrowfan: Including the “and” and the “the”?
JPL
@Woodrowfan: At least three..
different-church-lady
@debbie: What else does she have?
Elizabelle
First time fabric cutting has made it to a debate. Well done.
PsiFighter37
Hit him on his father’s loan. Niiiiiiiice. Now talk about his clothes from China and Mexico!
Baud
Glad they are talking about tax plans.
Miss Bianca
Ah, Adam. I’d love to have heard that. I think I’m book-marking this response and trying to memorize it instead of short-circuiting when people start going “but they’re both so bad!”
(and I’ll give citations, too!)
Meanwhile…chile, mead, and BJ live-blog snark on the agenda for the evening. Bring it on!
JMG
@efgoldman: Drew Magary tweeted that tonight would be better if Holt and Gruden switched jobs.
Ceci n'est pas mon nym
I resolved to watch this but I already got sick of Trump’s voice 30 seconds into his first response. Which is that workers are suffering because people like Trump are sending jobs overseas and we have to stop that.
Eric S.
Trumped Up Trickle Down. That lead balloon just crashed through the floor boards.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Lester’s asking for specifics. Uh-Oh.
debit
Lester Holt: Donald, how far up your ass would like my tongue to go?
dmsilev
And Trump gets baited. Such a little thing.
Elizabelle
Defensive about his father. Small loan from his father. OK.
JPL
WTF is he talking about
Corner Stone
@p.a.:
Civics lesson, snookums. You see, there was a young man who did not quite understand how political science worked in our country. I felt it was more important to spend a little time lengthily discussing how things should be, and I reported it to him in three parts:
1.
1A
1B
1C
2
2A
2B
2C
3
3A
3B
3C
TaMara (HFG)
@Adam L Silverman: It helps that you’ve got the credentials to make people stop and listen. I second the motion we send you on a swing state tour.
Omnes Omnibus
A follow up asking Trump for specifics. Interesting.
CZanne
Sounds like Kellyanne got that scrip for a beta blocker.
The only Republican article of faith: slashing the top marginal tax rate.
Very small loan: $5.5M in 2016 dollars.
Quinerly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: He’s doing that breathing/snort thing.
Mike J
If you’re explaining you’re losing. Donald is losing.
Elizabelle
@Eric S.: What does that mean? I think it was a great line.
CaseyL
I may tune in later if Hillary starts to take the YamScrotum apart, or if he just starts falling apart on his own, but otherwise cannot bear to watch. I’ll follow it from here and maybe Drezner’s twitter feed.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Trump seems to have the sniffles, too much coke in the 80’s? It’d be irresponsible to not speculate.
Immanentize
Trump: Deviated septum or Coke addict?
Credenzal Jocularity
Hillary was president for 30 years?
Anne Laurie
What’s with the audible sniffling every few seconds, Donald?
(I think they’ve got him on the heavy animal tranks, he’s very low-energy tonight.)
socraticsilence
@debbie:
Huh, so Trump did invite a mistress, just one (or more, whose to say) of his own.
PsiFighter37
Wow, that was a weird aside. Trump definitely has a runny nose. Maybe he did too much coke ahead of the debate?
dmsilev
Q: “You’re babbling. Could you please answer my original question?”
debit
@debit: Okay, that was unfair of me.
Betty Cracker
Trump’s sniffing is fucked up! If Clinton did that, they’d schedule a ceremony at Arlington tomorrow!
Ceci n'est pas mon nym
He learned a number (Mexico 16% VAT) about trade policy. I don’t know if it’s a true number, but it’s a number. He sounds all wonky now. He’ll probably keep repeating this number all night.
Elizabelle
Yea Lester. Gentle follow up, but makes it clear Trump did not answer the question.
khead
“The companies are leaving. Thousands of them!”
Ohio Mom
Hillary started by thanking the debate commission and the host college — Trump just launched into his speech. No graciousness.
dmsilev
@Credenzal Jocularity:
Hush, that’s supposed to be a secret.
Omnes Omnibus
@Immanentize: Yes.
Quinerly
@Immanentize:
Coke addict with a deviated septum. It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Adam L Silverman
I’d pay good money for her to pull a tissue out of her sleeve and offer it to him.
Baud
@Betty Cracker: She gave him pneumonia!
Travels with Charley
Sso far her expressions, are good, I think: mild interest, slight smile. Gets more intense when she spokes. “Donald rooted for the collapse”
aliasofwestgate
Her look is ‘granma is patient, then I will take you apart.’
Smiling Mortician
Coke. He’s sniffing like mad, and gulping water, and sweating big bullets on his forehead. Also, I’m seeing a big bald spot on the top of his head.
Betty Cracker
Hillz is kicking his fucking ass so far!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
you all are talking about zingers, earnest twitter tells me Hillary is treating him as a conventional trickle-down Republican, and that this is a good strategy
Hitting Trump in the Daddy Issues? Can’t believe it’s just happening now.
Skerry
Lots of sniffling. Maybe he’s dying.
quakerinabasement
Trump: “That’s called business.”
Mai.naem.mobile
You can hear him sucking in his breath/throat thing. Annoying. I’m listening on radio.
Botsplainer
We’re relitigating NAFTA??
WTF???
Omnes Omnibus
@Baud: That’s one bad ass bitch (meant in the good way).
debit
Man, Hillary is not taking any shit, but is being totally cool and classy about it. And provides specifics when Trump just blathers. Surely people will take note of that.
gogol's wife
@Betty Cracker:
I want to hear Chuck Todd say that. Then I’ll breathe more easily.
misterpuff
Hillary already under his skin. She got the shrug/head bounce. The Donald is miffed.
quakerinabasement
@Skerry: Maybe he did a coupla toots.
Betty Cracker
@Adam L Silverman: OMFG! That would be so ninja grandma!
different-church-lady
Just want to thank you all for making this bearable.
dmsilev
Sorry Donald, you did in fact claim climate change was a hoax.
Ryan
First 5 minutes. I have been tailgaiiting, but we’ve won!
Botsplainer
Now he’s interrupting.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Donald, those interruptions aren’t going to play well.
Bill E Pilgrim
Okay Trump looks terrible. Awkward and uncomfortable.
This is excellent news.
SiubhanDuinne
Oh, I guess I should be here. I was commenting downstairs. Yes, on the weird sniffing/snorting thing Donald is doing.
Ooh, he’s interrupting and talking over her. LOL.
Smiling Mortician
He’s gonna blow.
PsiFighter37
Trump looks weak as Clinton talks all over his ass. PWNT
Keith G
HRC: mentions tax policy role in great recession, but not Wall Street. Hope she corrects that…..soon
mdblanche
@efgoldman:
Again with you hating on our party’s mascot.
MomSense
@Skerry:
Yeah what’s up with the snorting?
Botsplainer
Boilerplate conservatism.
Remote OFF.
SiubhanDuinne
My feed seems to be a few minutes behind all of y’all’s. Sad!
joel hanes
@SFAW:
a Kristol Tweet, wherein he predicts Hillary crushing Trump
blind pig acorn
jayboat
Dude is lit up.
Elizabelle
Biased, but HIllary looks so much better. Weak first answer, but she’s on her game now.
Climate change, a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.
Donald interjects. He doesn’t. We will hear after the debate if there’s evidence for that.
Very solid answer. Donald brings up Solyndra, not by name. Our energy policies are a disaster.
It’s amazing the American people aren’t in boats, heading for Japan or anywhere we can go.
HIs whole message: we need to keep our jobs in this country.
It would be great to have a discussion about how to deal with companies that move overseas. Inversions.
Mary G
He appears to plan to say the same thing over and over and over. He’s not looking well at all.
Tripod
@Ceci n’est pas mon nym:
VAT???
I don’t think that means what you think it means….
debit
Oh, he can interrupt her, but she can’t interrupt him. Man, he’s coming off like such a dick. Take another drink, Donnie!
debbie
“That’s called business, by the way”? Fuck you.
Adam L Silverman
@Quinerly: @?BillinGlendaleCA: @Anne Laurie: @Betty Cracker: Poorly repaired deviated septum.
SiubhanDuinne
Donald can interrupt with impunity, but when Hillary tries to make a point, he’s all “Excuse ME.”
Felonius Monk
@Betty Cracker:
That means it’s time for a beer.
Bobby Thomson
Fuckin’ lying dick head did in fact say global warming was a hoax created by the Chinese.
And Trump went a little too heavy on the coke. Needs to stop the sniffing.
Skerry
Clinton: “Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.”
Trump: I did not say that. I did not say that. I did not say that.
Twitter:
Donald J. Trump Verified account
@realDonaldTrump
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
dmsilev
I think someone has told Trump that he needs to have a special Presidential pose to hold while Clinton is speaking, and he only remembers 30 or 40 percent of the time.
aliasofwestgate
She is not taking his shyte at all.
ljdramone
Talked to a guy tonite, said he was 64 & served in the Army for a couple of years. He didn’t like how Hillary revealed classified whatever, “that could get people killed.” I mentioned Trump’s comment about how we have nukes, why haven’t we used them? He said, “yeah, that is kind of scary.”
Davis X. Machina
Mansplain away. What is the record gender gap anyways?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@debbie: maybe a commercial for Ohio (and PA, and MI, and Iowa and….)
trollhattan
Donny’s straying…called her Hillary and talking over her. Reaganesque
Keith G
Whiny Trump voice is a lot more unavoidable when there are only two debaters. Makes me hit mute.
debit
Why is Lester letting this go on?
Turgidson
@gogol’s wife:
Chucklehead Todd will say Trump was “messaging successfully” throughout the debate. Because he was lying. And that’s what Chucklehead thinks lies are. Successful messaging. Derp.
Elizabelle
HRC: That is just. Not accurate.
dmsilev
@Elizabelle:
Solyndra is one of those things that only the hard-core right wing cares about.
misterpuff
Drumpf goes RW Talking Head on Hillary, talking over her response. Rudeness.
Bobby Thomson
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/03/hillary-clinton/yes-donald-trump-did-call-climate-change-chinese-h/
Betty Cracker
Your own reality! Zing!
?BillinGlendaleCA
Donald, you live in your own reality.
trollhattan
Oh snap. Own reality.
Elizabelle
Well, Donald, I know you live in your own reality.
Central Planning
This is rapidly becoming impossible to watch with Trump’s constant interrupting.
aliasofwestgate
Omg he’s being the overbearing asswipe. Interrupting dickhead.
mdblanche
@debit: Who?
Tripod
@Botsplainer:
I do like that Modelo Especial.
Skerry
Didn’t Bush I sign NAFTA?
dmsilev
@debit:
I think it’s good that he is letting the conversation flow.
Corner Stone
This is a shitshow.
Anoniminous
This is going far, far, better than I hoped. Clinton is kicking his ass
different-church-lady
@debit: It’s not the moderator’s job to moderate. Don’t want another Candy Crowley now, so we’ve been told.
Keith P.
I like that Clinton refers to Trump as “Donald”. I know he doesn’t like it, and it appears the psychoanalysis says so, too.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Ohio Mom: OT – you interested in (helping work on) any local races? Ask Adam or AL to send you my email if you are. Thanks! (either way).
Bobby Thomson
@misterpuff: No one should be surprised by that. I called it yesterday.
Adam L Silverman
@Betty Cracker: Its all about the optics.
quakerinabasement
“Donald, I know you live in your own reality.”
? Martin
I’m not sure how this is going to play out. It’s seriously disrespectful, but the right is probably loving the shit out of it.
Elizabelle
Strong growth. Fair growth. Sustained growth.
10 million jobs vs. losing 3.5 million jobs.
DJT talking about taxes on businesses.
Let them move the fuck somewhere else. Others will take their place.
dmsilev
@Skerry: There you go with your “facts” and your “history”.
NotoriousJRT
I would not have let him tell me that both choices are bad. I would have said Hillary is qualified; Trump is not. Whatever it is that you’ve heard that makes you think Hillary is as “bad” as Trump – a lot of it is Trumped up and not true. Ask yourself if you don’t like her because she is a woman. Ask yourself if you want a lying blow-hard like Trump in the Oval Office. If the answer is “yes,” sail on take-out dude. More than likely you are voting against the person who wants to do you some good. (And to myself, you better wish for the lottery win, Skip.)
debit
Bigly!!
SiubhanDuinne
He is angry. Twenty minutes in and she’s WAY under his skin!
jayboat
We don’t need no stinkin’ regulations.
dmsilev
Bigly?
aliasofwestgate
Her expression is priceless!
Corner Stone
“Bigly”
Ceci n'est pas mon nym
I’m trying just to turn the sound on for her responses, but he keeps shouting her down so she has no continuous responses. I’m already read to throw the screen, which would be very bad for my laptop.
JGabriel
Man, Donald is coming across as a major, major, asshole.
Elizabelle
HRC: That can’t be left to stand. Says her website is a factchecker.
Ryan
Trump has the biggest boner, I mean, has the bigliest tax cut!
khead
Trumps looks unhinged without the sound on. Hillary just keeps smiling.
Mary G
“Bigly!” Drink.
Corner Stone
Lester Holt is a jokehole.
Suzanne
Hi all. Just got home from a short trip to NOLA for a family wedding, now watching the debate about 20 minutes delayed.
Don’t know if I can handle this shit tonight.
Smiling Mortician
WTF? Shut this asshole up.
debit
Hah!! “At least I have a plan.”
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I sure hope so. And direct it at the teamsters.
Keith P.
Is Trump on cocaine or methamphetamine tonight? I’m curious if he can maintain the pace or if he’ll crash. But Al Gore sighed.
dmsilev
Clinton has been fighting ISIS her entire adult life? ISIS was founded in the 1970s?
Yet another jeff
This Trump guy…he seems nice….
?BillinGlendaleCA
Lester has lost control, they should have gone for shock collars.
Felonius Monk
Donald, I am kicking your ass all the way back to Mar-a-Lago.
Mike J
General MacArthur, who had to be fired because he didn’t understand civilian supremacy over the military, wouldn’t like a web site.
? Martin
She’s definitely getting to him, but she holding back a lot at the same time.
quakerinabasement
“You’ve been fighting ISIS your entire adult life.”
Tha fuck?
Omnes Omnibus
Her website is now a fact checker.
Smiling Mortician
@Mary G: I think it’s how he tries to pronounce “big league.” He just doesn’t get it. He probably also thinks it’s “for all intensive purposes.”
Baud
Jesus, if progressives stay home after this, we should just pack it in.
PsiFighter37
Debate crowd laughed at Donald when he said Hillary has been fighting ISIS her entire adult life. LOLZ
Omnes Omnibus
@quakerinabasement: Did you see her face? She almost started laughing.
HinTN
He’s fucking nuts and she’s got him on the ropes calling him Donald.
Iowa Old Lady
@Quinerly: Or a brain tumor. I think he looks tumor-ish.
Old Dan and Little Anne
Fuck! I’ve been commenting in the wrong thread. Whoops.
Quinerly
He really didn’t prepare.
Bobby Thomson
@Keith P.: seriously? I don’t think the sniffing leaves much to the imagination.
khead
@Baud:
Yup.
dmsilev
Calling this word salad would be an insult to Sarah Palin’s coherence.
Mike J
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Only if you shock both of them equally. It takes two for this to happen, one to talk over his opponent and one to be talked over. Fair is fair.
HinTN
@Baud: yep
Renie
OMG he is in the manic stage; what a loony
MomSense
Oh FFS he’s throwing all his best words in a bowl and tossing them.
Credenzal Jocularity
I didn’t even try to get in on the double bigly stuff, but I’m super psyched that Secretary Clinton brought the sauce tonight.
seaboogie
New thread please? This debate is everything we wished for!!!
debit
Oh zing.
Bill E Pilgrim
Trump is winning over the asshole-American vote.
Underpaid Propagandist
I thought Bloomberg would fact-check onscreen. They lied.
Corner Stone
Trump is a manic motherfucker.
Adam L Silverman
@Mike J: General McArthur is also dead.
quakerinabasement
@dmsilev: I think he actually said, “big league.”
dmsilev
Trump is losing his cool already, and we’re not even a third of the way through.
Omnes Omnibus
Holy shit. He has lost it.
khead
Trump just can’t stop himself.
Mary G
She has the best facial expressions.
PsiFighter37
LOL she called him crazy. Lovin’ it.
Trump is gonna stroke out at this rate. More than an hour to go…
mdblanche
@Bill E Pilgrim: Yeah, but he already had them.
khead
“Lester, help me.” – Trump
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Bill E Pilgrim: He already had them.
Skerry
Why not?
debit
Jesus he can’t control himself. She is under his skin and stinging.
gogol's wife
The Guardian is all tingly over the bracing energy of his attack. You guys don’t seem to be seeing that.
Mike J
@efgoldman:
His doc is the one that scored the coke for him.
mdblanche
@Omnes Omnibus: Lester Holt? I agree.
Bobby Thomson
@PsiFighter37: at or with? Remember, people are stupid.
She has to cut him off more when he interrupts. I can’t believe she didn’t have a “I paid for this microphone” line ready.
SiubhanDuinne
I can’t believe he thinks it’s a good idea to keep interrupting and shouting over her. But apparently he does.
different-church-lady
@dmsilev: How do you reel it back in once that happens? If he calms down, he looks subdued by comparison.
Soprano2
I guess he doesn’t realize what a jerk he’s being!
misterpuff
Trump just called all the rest of American business executives Pirates keeping their money offshore. The old scalliwag!
PsiFighter37
Hillary is mopping the floor with him. I would be shocked if he shows up for the last 2 debates after this.
Adam L Silverman
@seaboogie: Its up!
Schlemazel
@Mike J:
So if I talk over you thats your fault? Interesting.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@PsiFighter37: Remember Trump was complaining about the lengths of the Republican primary debates.
aliasofwestgate
She has his number. He is notseeing the bait, she’s as cool as a cucumber.
MomSense
Love love loving her smirk and laugh.
Mike J
D Wasserman Schultz @DWStweets 18 seconds ago Miami Beach, FL
So impressed by @HillaryClinton calm, steady, thoughtful & compassionate. Doing great up there! #NeverTrump
debit
It’s like my crazy uncle Myron is here in my living room.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: He’s cycling up!
Corner Stone
We’re in a big fat ugly bubble.
How in the hell can we be in a poor revival and yet be in a bubble?
Smiling Mortician
No, Donald. You ARE a big, fat, ugly bubble.
dmsilev
Ooh, tax returns. This should be amusing.
Adam L Silverman
@Omnes Omnibus: He’s cycling to manic.
hilts
About time Lester to ask this lying fucker about his tax returns
seaboogie
There will NOT be a second debate, stick a fork in him – Donald is done. Ooh, here come the tax returns.
different-church-lady
@Soprano2: Being a jerk has worked for him his entire life.
SiubhanDuinne
Tax returns, yay!!
Comrade Scrutinizer
Anther thread open.
Mike J
Ari Fleischer Verified account @AriFleischer
Trump is getting too loud and too hot. If I were him, I’d tone that down a notch.
Bobby Thomson
@SiubhanDuinne: he’s not wrong. You’d be surprised how many people are eating that up right now. A lot depends on Holt and the press.
Keith P.
Jeez, Trump behaves exactly like a 10 year old kid. In so many ways. He never emotionally matured.
EDIT: Also, I’m guessing he’s on Ritalin, and Hillary is wearing something he’s allergic to (psy-ops)
Adam L Silverman
@debit: We can make that happen!
SFAW
Who’s the fucking potted plant sitting in Lester Holt’s seat. I watched about three minutes of Shitgibbon interrupting and generally being a 3-year-old, and Holt just fucking sits there.
By the end of tinight, I may have to change my nym to Villago Delenda Est 2 — The Delenda-ing.
This country is so fucked. Fucking Pravda.
Elizabelle
Fresh thread.
quakerinabasement
Oh, good for Lester! “The IRS says…”
CZanne
A bubble of what?
I thought Snow Snookie Palin’s word salad was icky — all potatoes and mayo, left out in the sun for a few hours.
$694M? Prove it. Dude, you get audited because you cut corners.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Trump’s insane, might be the results of untreated syphilis. It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
quakerinabasement
“I get audited and other people don’t.”
What does that tell you?
SFAW
@Keith P.:
You’re being about six years too generous.
Elie
@SiubhanDuinne:
I expected this and really there is no way she can shout him down… she just has to let him run with it until he exhausts himself or continues to dig himself deeper. He is a full piece of shit and smelling to all high heavens.. YAY. I thought he might try to be different but I am glad he is showing himself as he is…
?BillinGlendaleCA
@quakerinabasement: I noticed that, as well.
Anne Laurie
New thread up top, just in case.
Omnes Omnibus
Bait and switch….
Holy shit, she just went there on the tax returns.
Old Dan and Little Anne
Hillary reads Balloon Juice.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
I thought the Jets played already this week.
misterpuff
Crowd hooting when Trump went up volume on tax return release////Benghazzzzziiiiii!
And Hillary counterpunching on maybe The Donald is destitute and really unemployed. Hitting the mark!
debbie
@Adam L Silverman:
Lennox Hilldoctors suck.
CZanne
33K emails – 7500 – vi@gr@. 6000 – other pills. 9000 – p3n!s enhancement. The rest: Nigerian princes with money they want to give away.
Renie
OMG she is really getting under his skin; love it
Adam L Silverman
@Anne Laurie: Already put one up. About ten minutes ago. Focus!!!!!
Suzanne
Did Trump snort a bunch of coke right before coming out onto the stage?
It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
trollhattan
Hoo boy, another hour of this?
Illegal server?
Smiling Mortician
Jesus, he’s just creepathetic.
wenchacha
Adderall, at the very least.
Quinerly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Yep.
Immanentize
Under leveraged. Mr Trump, This country is under leveraged because you paid nothing. nothing!!
Renie
I want her to ask trump “Why do you hate America so much?”
Underpaid Propagandist
—Taxes are bad,
—Taxes that rebuild infrastructure are bad.
DJ Trump
Miss Bianca
@Betty Cracker: @Adam L Silverman: thank you both for the “ninja grandma” image.
Keith P.
Good lord, what an ASSHOLE!
HinTN
It’s all sound bites (and I’m gonna spew ’em at you).
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: It would be bad form, but what wouldn’t I give to hear her break out into her big juicy laugh, stop, smile and say, “I’m sorry…but you’re just so ridiculous.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Miss Bianca: It could happen.
quakerinabasement
How will you heal the racial divide?
“Stop and frisk.”
Idiot.
Miss Bianca
@Omnes Omnibus: Could God really love us that much?
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@Elizabelle: You misspelled Liar-son.
JGabriel
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Sounds more like too much coke tonight.
quakerinabasement
WTF did Trump just do to his microphone?
workworkwork
@lamh36: My wife yells at the TV whenever Trump comes on, so she’s watching “Prime Suspect” on AcornTV on our set top box.
SenyorDave
I can’t imagine a person who cares about this country voting for Trump
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@Elizabelle:
She should pull out examples from his entire outsourced line and say, “Starting with you?”
Ben Cisco +3
HeartlandLiberal
In my minds eye, I can see the target of your exposition still standing there behind the counter, 24 hours later, eyes wide and unblinking, staring into space.
Kate McArdle
@Adam L Silverman: hope yet!