Archive for the ‘Debates’ Category

Proof: Foreigners are disrupting the election process …

October 21, 2016

Psst: It’s not the Russians

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Let’s start with a couple of caveats and disclaimers:

1. Breitbart is real far right … very pro-Trump.

2. This isn’t a “scientific” analysis

3. This certainly doesn’t answer the question: who won the debate.

That said, I thought this was pretty interesting.

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Most overnight “click polls” had Trump winning the first 2 debates.

So, a cottage industry developed to trash those polls as “unscientific”.

Now that didn’t stop CNN from gleefully reporting “even far-right website Breitbart’s overnight poll had Hillary Clinton winning the final presidential debate by 6 percentage points”.

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Kudos to Breitbart for reporting the numbers; shame-shame to CNN for reversing course legitimizing click-polls.

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Well, Breitbart dug into the numbers to figure out what was going on.

Here’s what they found …..

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Debates, Polls & Surveys | Leave a Comment »

About the “accept results” dust-up …

October 21, 2016

OK, Trump made a tactical mistake by being bluntly truthful on the question: “Will you commit today to accept the results of the election?”

He should have said: “Sure, just like Gore in 2000.  Once all the related legal processes are settled and the results are certified, I’ll abide by the election results.”

But, he didn’t … so, Dems and the MSM got challenge his patriotism, commitment to the Constitution, blah-blah-blah.

Sample, the Atlantic:

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Too bad, because it would have been great to have had coverage of the other big issues that surfaced during the debate: open borders, free trade, 2nd amendment, tax & spend, pay-to- play, tiered justice system, religious freedom, partial-birth abortion, etc.

The best part of the debate (my opinion) was that Chris Wallace got Trump & Clinton to stake out their positions on most of those issues.

Of course, there was bobbing & weaving, but the sharp contrasts in positions were laid out.

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Now, back to the concession dust-up ….

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Concession speeches, Debates | Leave a Comment »

Will Hillary post for the 3rd debate?

October 17, 2016

Here are some debate predictions prompted by Axelrod’s tweet .

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Late last week, Trump opined that both candidates should be drug tested before Wednesday’s debate … ostensibly, to make sure that Hillary’s not being propped up by chemical additives.

David Axlerod – Obama’s chief political strategist – countered with idea that Hillary should scratch from the debate card.

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I don’t know which is the wilder idea: drug testing or scratching?

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At least the latter started me thinking …

What does Hillary have to gain by showing up … or not?

If she doesn’t show up, rumors will immediately surface that she has another bout of pneumonia … or worse.

Hmmm.

Or, all but the MSM will pound her: “How can we expect you to stand up to Putin if you can’t stand up to Trump … and Fox’s Chris Wallace?”

Double hmmm.

Advantage to to showing up.

But wait …

Let’s add one more piece and then connect the dots.

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Game on: Debate shines a light on another disgusting tape.

October 10, 2016

This one has been hiding in plain sight for a long time.

I’d been wondering why this tape has largely gone unnoticed by folks.

Maybe, because it’s damning to Hillary, not Donald?

Well, it’s likely to get noticed now.

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In one of his tirades about Clintonian women abuse, Trump landed a body blow:

“One of the women, who is a wonderful woman, at 12 years old, was raped at 12,” Trump said. “Her client she (Clinton) represented got him off, and she’s heard laughing (on tape) on two separate occasions, laughing at the girl who was raped.”

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According to the Washington Post …

The attack on Clinton has less to do with the fact that she defended an accused rapist and more to do with how she did it and what she said about the case later

Specifically, it focuses on her efforts to attack the girl’s credibility and allegations that she spoke callously about getting the man a reduced charge, despite appearing to suggest he had been guilty.

The attack plays into twin allegations about Clinton’s character:

1) That she lacks a moral compass and will do whatever is advantageous to her, and

2) That she’s a hypocrite who says one thing today about sexual assault but did the opposite decades ago.

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Here are few more snippets from the Washington Post’s recap of the story …

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Clinton, Hillary, Debates, Trump, Donald | 1 Comment »

Flashback: A debate so civil that people felt good about both candidates.

October 7, 2016

Of course, we’re not talking about Clinton-Trump or Pence-Kaine …

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Every time that I watch one of these current day mud-slings, I think retro to the good old days when 2 contending candidates could share a stage, explain their contrasting positions so clearly that voters had a basis for choosing, and leave the stage as friends – just like they were when they walked in.

The year was 2000 and it was the Vice Presidential debate: Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney.

 

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The nation was ideologically divided … maybe not a divisively as today … but, there were stark contrasts in positions.

Still the men were willing and able to conduct themselves as statesmen …

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Cheney, Dick, Debates, Lieberman, Joe | Leave a Comment »

VP Debate: Déjà vu all over again …

October 6, 2016

Anybody remember Biden vs. Ryan?

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As I was watching Tim Kaine make a butt of himself Tuesday night, a little voice was asking “Haven’t I seen this before?”

Answer: you bet … 4 years ago when sitting VP Biden went at it with Paul Ryan.

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Apparently, Biden is Kaine’s role model ….

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Debates | Leave a Comment »

Stop saying “Don’t grade Trump on a curve”

September 29, 2016

My objection is technical, not political,

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The phrase “don’t grade him on a curve” has now eclipsed “It’s not who we are” as my absolute least favorite.

Folks who are saying it (think, Clinton supporters) are inadvertently flaunting their ignorance (which makes for great irony).

Speaking as a card-carrying academic, my objection is strictly technical.

 

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Let’s get basic.  What does it mean to grade on a curve?

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Academics - Research, Clinton, Hillary, Debates, Trump, Donald | 1 Comment »

“I ain’t going down no more”

September 28, 2016

Now, will Trump draw inspiration from Rocky?

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The debate reminded me of the classic clip from the first Rocky movie.

In the flick, Apollo Creed –- fighting within the Marquess of Queensberry Rules — was pummeling Rocky … round after round after round.

With little time left in the fight, Rocky uttered those memorable words:

“I ain’t going down no more”

Then, he came out of his corner like a bull and changed the trajectory of the fight.

 

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click to view the memorable clip   <= worth watching

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My view:

Clinton pummeled Trump, but she didn’t knock him out.

Trump landed a few strong punches.

Trump lives to fight another a day.

He’s a fighter.

Let’s see if Trump pulls a Rocky.

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P.S.  I recollect that Rocky won the re-match and took Creed’s title … hmmm.

click to view the memorable clip

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#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Clinton, Hillary, Debates, Trump, Donald | Leave a Comment »

Update: Visceral vs. cerebral … who won the debate?

September 27, 2016

More overnite numbers ….

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Great recap in the Daily Mail … worth browsing – lots of polls.

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Left-leaning pundits — especially Hillary’s surrogates — are apoplectic on TV today.

“Is the American electorate that stupid?”

Which is worse, stupid or irredeemably deplorable?

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Great tweet from Michael Moore to his left-leaning pals:

 

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This is way more fun than I expected I to be

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Here’s the original post from this morning … just in case you missed it.

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First, my overall take:

Hillary was very well prepped, got all of her talking points in and stayed on offense.

Trump wasted too much time defending himself, didn’t hammer the email scandal and didn’t even raise pay-to-play, Benghazi or “deplorables”.

Holt nibbled at Trump all night, but gave Trump the most important gift: making the first 15 minutes about the economy.

Takeaway from that segment – which pundits pre-argued would be determining – was that Trump will be aggressive on saving jobs and Clinton will create tax payer funded green energy jobs.

Advantage: Trump.

Clinton’s biggest score (with a boost from Holt):  birther issue “proves” that Trump is a racist.

Trump’s biggest scores: “why haven’t you done any of this in the past 30 years?” and firmly headlined  “law & order”.

Both demonstrated why they’re the most disliked candidates ever.

OK, now for the numbers which, frankly, surprised me ….

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From left to right:

Time scored it a 50-50 draw.

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CBS scores it Trump 76%, Clinton 24%

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CNBC scores it 61 to 39 Trump.

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And, far right-leaning Drudge has it Trump 80, Clinton 20

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Team Clinton must be pulling their hair out this morning.

There isn’t much else that Hillary could have done – she was locked & loaded.

Maybe there’s something in her message … or her character … or that smirky “I’m smarter than you” smile that she kept flashing.

Bottom line: Pundits will dismiss the internet polls and score it heavily for Hillary …  but Donald gets to crow about the overnite results and lives to fight another day.

My question: what ammo does Hillary have left for the next debate?

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P.S. Yesterday’s post is worth re-reading:
Trump: Inspired by the 1972 Cuban Olympic boxing team?

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#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Clinton, Hillary, Debates, Trump, Donald | Leave a Comment »

Visceral vs. cerebral … who won the debate?

September 27, 2016

Here are the overnite numbers ….

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First, my overall take:

Hillary was very well prepped, got all of her talking points in and stayed on offense.

Trump wasted too much time defending himself, didn’t hammer the email scandal and didn’t even raise pay-to-play, Benghazi or “deplorables”.

Holt nibbled at Trump all night, but gave Trump the most important gift: making the first 15 minutes about the economy.

Takeaway from that segment – which pundits pre-argued would be determining – was that Trump will be aggressive on saving jobs and Clinton will create tax payer funded green energy jobs.

Advantage: Trump.

Clinton’s biggest score (with a boost from Holt):  birther issue “proves” that Trump is a racist.

Trump’s biggest scores: “why haven’t you done any of this in the past 30 years?” and firmly headlined  “law & order”.

Both demonstrated why they’re the most disliked candidates ever.

OK, now for the numbers which, frankly, surprised me ….

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From left to right:

Time scored it a 50-50 draw.

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CBS scores it Trump 76%, Clinton 24%

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CNBC scores it 61 to 39 Trump.

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And, far right-leaning Drudge has it Trump 80, Clinton 20

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Team Clinton must be pulling their hair out this morning.

There isn’t much else that Hillary could have done – she was locked & loaded.

Maybe there’s something in her message … or her character … or that smirky “I’m smarter than you” smile that she kept flashing.

Bottom line: Pundits will dismiss the internet polls and score it heavily for Hillary …  but Donald gets to crow about the overnite results and lives to fight another day.

My question: what ammo does Hillary have left for the next debate?

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P.S. Yesterday’s post is worth re-reading:
Trump: Inspired by the 1972 Cuban Olympic boxing team?

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#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Clinton, Hillary, Debates, Trump, Donald | Leave a Comment »

Why not undercard debates featuring Johnson and Stein?

September 15, 2016

Last weekend, I caught an interview with Jill Stein – the Green Party’s candidate for President.

While she stands zero chance of winning and I disagree with most of her positions, the interview was interesting.

She was articulate and cut to the chase on the issues in a simple understandable way.

Example: “We should go with renewable energy because pollution from fossil fuels is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths each year.”

That resonated with me.

No reliance on weather predictions from dudes who predicted that Hermine would devastate the East Coast this past weekend.

Just a simple: Stop pollution, it causes deaths every year.

I can buy in to that argument faster than worrying about forecasts of the seas rising in a couple of hundred years.

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According to several polls – the MorningConsult being among the latest – a majority of likely voters would like to see Libertarian Gary Johnson and Greenie Jill Stein on the presidential debate stage even though they are below the 15% popularity threshold.

Based on the Stein interview, I’d like to see more of Johnson and Stein. I wouldn’t waste my vote on either of them, but I’d like to here more.

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The prime argument against their participation is that it would shorten the time allotted to Clinton and Trump …

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Debates, Environment - Green, Libertarian | 2 Comments »

Trump needs a debate coach …

August 31, 2016

My nomination: Dennis Miller.

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NY Times ran a piece contrasting Donald’s and Hillary’s debate prep:

Hillary Clinton Piles Up Research in Bid to Needle Donald Trump at First Debate

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Predictably, the Times slams Trump for a refusal to wade through policy books or practice mock debates.

Hillary, though, is disciplined, studious and advice-seeking.

She’s consulting with psychologists “preparing ways for her to unnerve Mr. Trump and provoke him to rant and rave.”

They conclude that Trump’s hot buttons are: his intellect, his net worth and his image as a successful businessman.

Easy picking, right?

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So, how can Trump possibly win a debate against her?

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Clinton, Hillary, Debates, Trump, Donald | 5 Comments »

Marco: Here’s what you should have said …

February 8, 2016

Disclaimer: I’m a Rubio fan since he has brains & stage presence (usually) … which should translate to electability.

So, I was stunned that he was under-prepped for Saturday’s debate … and got steam-rolled by Christie.

Christie’s points re: accomplishments, accountability and leadership are legitimate … and certainly should have been expected.

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Obviously, Marco could have handled the onslaught more effectively.

Here’s how …

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Posted in 2016 Presidential Election, Christie, Gov. Chris, Debates, Rubio, Marco | Leave a Comment »

GOP Debate: 2 zingers worth highlighting …

November 12, 2015

I watched most of Tuesday’s debate and listened to the rest driving home.

Here are the two zingers that I thought were noteworthy.

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The first was Ted Cruz on illegal immigration

After ranting about how insulted he was that some folks say he’s anti-immigrant, he quipped:

“When the mainstream media covers illegal immigration they do not see it as an economic issue, but I can tell that for millions of Americans watching this [debate] at home it is a very personal economic issue.

Things would be reported differently if the jobs being threatened by illegal immigration were those that hit a little closer to the pocketbooks of disinterested parties.

I will say, the politics of it would be very, very different if a bunch of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande.

Or if a bunch of people with journalism degrees were coming over and driving down the wages in the press.

Then we would see stories about the economic calamity that is befalling our nation.”

Nicely put, Ted

But, my overall favorite was from Rand Paul.

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How badly did the CNBC moderators shoot themselves (and their network) in the foot?

November 2, 2015

My view: the debate debacle was career-limiting for the moderators, a serious blow to CNBC’s brand image and competitive standing, and a financial hit to NBC.

There seems to be a broad consensus across the political spectrum that the CNBC debate was a disaster.

Even a leaked internal CNBC email called it a train wreck.

NBC execs admonished “news” folks at NBS, MSNBC and CNBC not to “pile on”.

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Let’s do a quick damage assessment …

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Posted in CNBC, Debates, FBN - Fox Business, Media Bias | Leave a Comment »