2020 Presidential Election

[jafarr1]

Anyone talking about the debate on social media right after the debate very likely had already made up their mind before tonight.

[OldPhiKap]

This is the correct take in my mind. There ain’t many undecided left and I doubt this helped any of them make up their mind. The odds that it changed any minds are very small.

Jason “I suspect Trump’s advisers and the GOP elected officials are breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn’t another interruption nightmare” Evans

I would restate it as: this was Trump’s best performance of the campaign. Whether it is too late or not remains to be seen.

Now, to see who wins the post-debate spin . . . .

[mph]

Trump will come off as winning this debate. Not a great showing from Biden. While it may not move the needle, Trump certainly isn’t likely to lose any more ground. I think he will see a bump just like he did after his last debate against Clinton.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I wish I hadn’t said this debate won’t move the needle one bit. I still don’t think it changes much, but it could tighten things a little bit. Biden’s biggest problem in this debate might end up being that he seemed older than Trump. There were times Biden was searching for words. It appeared that he might have forgotten Kim Jong Un’s name when they were taking about North Korea. Little things that might matter more when there’s a preexisting narrative that your age is catching up with you.

[ClemmonsDevil]

After a Duke basketball game or a huge political event like a debate I am almost always reminded of William Blake's line: "Both read the Bible day and night, where thou read black I read white."

[rthomas]

What was the thing Trump was dissing tiny windows? I had no clue.

[Bluedog]

What was the thing Trump was dissing tiny windows? I had no clue.

Said Biden and Democrats energy plan ("Green New Deal") would basically make buildings have tiny windows to save energy. No idea how true or not that is. Clearly, Trump likes big windows. (And admittedly I like sunlight too...).

[OldPhiKap]

Said Biden and Democrats energy plan ("Green New Deal") would basically make buildings have tiny windows to save energy. No idea how true or not that is. Clearly, Trump likes big windows. (And admittedly I like sunlight too...).

You know what they say about men that have tiny windows.

[ClemmonsDevil]

You know what they say about men that have tiny windows.

They need small window shades?

[YmoBeThere]

Said Biden and Democrats energy plan ("Green New Deal") would basically make buildings have tiny windows to save energy. No idea how true or not that is.

It isn't. You do need to be concerned with how well you seal around the window, emissivity of the window, window materials used, location of the window relative to the sun, etc. etc.

[Skydog]

Why Biden decided to spontaneously bring up ending the oil and gas industry with elections in TX and PA in a few days is beyond me. He also did look and act a bit older. Dont think it will move things more than 1 or 2 points but.. why?

[JasonEvans]

CNN has a panel of 11 undecided voters from NC. They asked who won the debate... 9 for Biden, 2 tie, 0 for Trump. Ouch!

CNN’s instant poll of debate watchers just came out too: Biden 53 - Trump 39.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Why Biden decided to spontaneously bring up ending the oil and gas industry with elections in TX and PA in a few days is beyond me. He also did look and act a bit older. Dont think it will move things more than 1 or 2 points but.. why?

That wasn't a good moment, and I'm sure that Trump will be bringing it up lots in the next few days. However, Biden also has time to further explain himself. He was trying to say that it is a goal, but it's nothing that will happen overnight. He should come out and talk about how he is in support of a transition from oil to clean energy. If he is able to do that, nothing is lost.
The railroad barons of yore had to make a move as technology affected shipping and travel, he can pretty simply point out that the oil barons of today (and the companies they run) will be able to do the same thing.

[Furniture]

CNN poll says a Joe Biden win 53 to 39.

Also the CNN independent watchers said Biden won 9 to 0.

[cato]

This has been my contention for the last year. Not as sexy as the Snape thing. But fun.

Poor Severus. This might be the first time someone said this.

[Furniture]

11 days...

[dudog84]

Why Biden decided to spontaneously bring up ending the oil and gas industry with elections in TX and PA in a few days is beyond me. He also did look and act a bit older. Dont think it will move things more than 1 or 2 points but.. why?

That wasn't a good moment, and I'm sure that Trump will be bringing it up lots in the next few days. However, Biden also has time to further explain himself. He was trying to say that it is a goal, but it's nothing that will happen overnight. He should come out and talk about how he is in support of a transition from oil to clean energy. If he is able to do that, nothing is lost.
The railroad barons of yore had to make a move as technology affected shipping and travel, he can pretty simply point out that the oil barons of today (and the companies they run) will be able to do the same thing.

Yeah. He needs to quickly get out and say "Oil is a finite resource. Nobody knows that better than the people who work in those industries. So we need to prepare, and be ready for the transition to renewable energy. It won't happen next year, or even during my presidency, but it is coming and we have to prepare these workers and communities for it."

[CameronBornAndBred]

11 days...

tick tock!

Quick shout of thanks to all that joined chat tonight for the last debate, that was another fun evening. Section 21 is always open so I'm thinking it will be a fun place to hang on Election Night as well. I'll post another reminder on the 3rd.

[Steven43]

Why Biden decided to spontaneously bring up ending the oil and gas industry with elections in TX and PA in a few days is beyond me. He also did look and act a bit older. Dont think it will move things more than 1 or 2 points but.. why?

Well, we DO need to end the oil and gas industry. It’s a polluting dinosaur of an industry, and it’s irrevocably destroying our climate. We need more courageous politicians like Joe Biden saying what 99% of scientists/climatologists have been shouting from the rooftops for decades.

If the oil and gas industry folks of Texas and Pennsylvania want to bury their heads in the sand and live in a fantasy world that’s their problem. Actually, I’m wrong about that. It’s EVERYBODY’s problem.

[tommy]

Well, we DO need to end the oil and gas industry. It’s a polluting dinosaur of an industry, and it’s irrevocably destroying our climate. We need more courageous politicians like Joe Biden saying what 99% of scientists/climatologists have been shouting from the rooftops for decades.

If the oil and gas industry folks of Texas and Pennsylvania want to bury their heads in the sand and live in a fantasy world that’s their problem. Actually, I’m wrong about that. It’s EVERYBODY’s problem.

Unfortunately, the Democrats don't have the luxury of just writing off the folks of Texas and Pennsylvania like that. The Democrats view this as an absolutely MUST WIN election at basically all costs. Biden should still be in good shape in Pennsylvania, but his remarks about the oil industry I suspect just cost him any chance to win Texas. Which of course would have been the clincher to end all clinchers. This was an unforced error on Joe's part. He didn't need to say anything like that, and I'm afraid there's not going to be any effective way to walk it back now.

I agree with many others who have opined that Biden missed many opportunities tonight. I mean, fat pitches right down the middle of the plate. For instance, on the issue of people taking a COVID vaccine if one is developed, Biden should have said something like -- agree with it or not -- "people would be a lot more willing to quickly take the vaccine if you hadn't politicized the entire issue. If you hadn't installed all your political people at what should be a science-based CDC. If you hadn't muzzled the scientists and marginalized them. That's what's caused people to distrust the government on this and not want to take a vaccine so fast. They don't trust YOU cuz you mismanaged this thing from start to finish, you haven't told them the truth, and you've completely politicized it. And you couldn't even figure out how to protect yourself."

Biden had lots of opportunities for answers like that, and had he given just one, the horserace would be over, and one of the old nags would have been ready for the glue factory.

[Steven43]

Unfortunately, the Democrats don't have the luxury of just writing off the folks of Texas and Pennsylvania like that. The Democrats view this as an absolutely MUST WIN election at basically all costs. Biden should still be in good shape in Pennsylvania, but his remarks about the oil industry I suspect just cost him any chance to win Texas. Which of course would have been the clincher to end all clinchers. This was an unforced error on Joe's part. He didn't need to say anything like that, and I'm afraid there's not going to be any effective way to walk it back now.

I agree with many others who have opined that Biden missed many opportunities tonight. I mean, fat pitches right down the middle of the plate. For instance, on the issue of people taking a COVID vaccine if one is developed, Biden should have said something like -- agree with it or not -- "people would be a lot more willing to quickly take the vaccine if you hadn't politicized the entire issue. If you hadn't installed all your political people at what should be a science-based CDC. If you hadn't muzzled the scientists and marginalized them. That's what's caused people to distrust the government on this and not want to take a vaccine so fast. They don't trust YOU cuz you mismanaged this thing from start to finish, you haven't told them the truth, and you've completely politicized it. And you couldn't even figure out how to protect yourself."

Biden had lots of opportunities for answers like that, and had he given just one, the horserace would be over, and one of the old nags would have been ready for the glue factory.

I would transition away from the oil industry, yes,” Biden said in the presidential debate’s closing minutes under peppering from Trump. “The oil industry pollutes, significantly. It has to be replaced by renewable energy over time.”

The Biden campaign’s climate plan calls for the U.S. to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. And he repeated his pledge to end federal subsidies for the oil and gas industry. However, Biden’s plan does not call for a ban on climate-damaging fossil fuels, focusing instead on technologies that can capture pollution from oil and other sources.

Biden’s stance on this issue is not new. It’s not as if those who are directly involved in the oil and gas industry were taken aback by what he said tonight. Do you really think Texans and Pennsylvanians who are directly involved in the oil and gas industry were considering voting Democratic until Biden’s comments in the debate? I seriously doubt it. So realistically whose vote was suddenly changed from Biden to Trump because of Biden’s comments about the oil and gas industry?

If anything, it just shores up Biden’s standing with the Democrats who consider environmental issues to be among the most important and urgent issues we face as a nation. Some of them were possibly considering not voting at all because they preferred Bernie Sanders, but now, after Biden’s comments tonight, they might actually be motivated to vote for him. Don’t you think this is at least somewhat plausible?