Misunderstood

Post Mortem:  Well, that first debate is behind us but its ramifications aren’t. The good news is that polls indicate that more than 60% of viewers thought that Biden won, with “only” 28%, including Trump, thinking that he emerged on top.  The rest were likely too drunk by the end of the broadcast to voice an opinion. In addition, the Biden campaign raised a record breaking $4 million in the hour after the debate, a number that continued to grow to $10 million by night’s end.  The bad news is the Proud Boys also got a lot of free press and appear to be benefiting from their expanded visibility, because nothing spreads a hate message better than having the leader of the country call for you to get ready to act and by act think show up with guns at polling places in Black neighborhoods in swing states.  By the way, much as he once denied knowing KKK former grand wizard David Duke, Trump says that he never heard of the Proud Boys before the debate, his go to “I don’t know who they are” defense. Of course he still hasn’t condemned them or white supremacism and hasn’t walked back his comments encouraging those charming racists and misogynists to standby, which according to him, his spokespeople and the few “poor” Republican senators who were inconveniently caught by reporters seeking comments were misunderstood. As to Trump’s belligerent performance, it was intentional, part of a planned effort to trigger Biden’s stutter to make him appear incoherent and senile.  For the most part, Biden didn’t take the bait, he might not have made his planned points as coherently as he wanted, but Tuesday wasn’t his first rodeo, he’s engaged in more debates than your average candidate and knows how to deal with bullies.  As to the assertions made during the debate, Daniel Dale, CNN’s trusty fact checker notes that Trump made an “avalanche of lies,” while Biden largely spoke truth, not surprising but worth noting.  Also notable is that Biden’s comments about loving his son Hunter and appreciating how hard he’s working to overcome his addictions hit a chord with a lot of people with similar family histories as did his tribute to his departed son Beau. Instead of denting Biden, Trump’s attacks against his family didn’t win the bully in chief any new voters, in fact, Biden’s decision not to respond by going after members of the Trump crime family were received well.  Getting back to the Proud Boys, Trump’s refusal to condemn their actions may come back to haunt him in swingy Florida, Politico reports that it’s energizing the state’s Black voters, a key group required for a Democratic victory. As to future debates, they’re still on the schedule.  Biden’s campaign says that he remains committed to participating, though in keeping with his lying streak, last night during a rally in Minnesota, a state that Trump thinks he can swing despite polls that say otherwise, he insisted that Biden has already pulled out.  Could Trump be broadcasting his plans?  That’s the rally where Trump also attacked all refugees especially one of his favorite punching bags, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, claiming that if Biden wins, the state will be filled up with more “like her.”  As to the future debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates is looking into “additional structures” like mic cut off switches to prevent another sh-t fest. Good luck with that.  And Fox moderator Chris Wallace wants everyone to know he did the best he could do, and given Trump’s behavior, maybe he did. 

Viral Musings:  Debate or no debate, the coronavirus virus rages on undeterred.  The US is averaging more than 43,000 new cases daily, with rates of increase going up in 25 states.  New Mexico recorded the biggest spike but parts of the Midwest including Trump’s planned weekend destination Wisconsin are suffering bigly. Depressingly, even New York is suffering some of what Governor Cuomo is calling “clusters” in primarily ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, populations that were hit hard early on, proving that claims that area residents could lower their guard because they had achieved herd immunity are false and deadly.  Further evidence that Trump’s non-expert, expert radiologist/virus whisperer Scott Atlas and his beliefs are making things worse.  As to Wisconsin, Trump has not one but two super spreader rallies coming up, so what if hospitals are filling up and the state is experiencing the third highest rate of new infections in the country, according to polls he’s lagging significantly in that “must win” state so if a few more people have to die, why should he care?  After all, no one really gets sick at his rallies, or so he said at Tuesday night’s debate.  Herman Cain was unavailable for comment. 

People, Places, Things:  Former Trump campaign manager/data guru Brad Parscale, the guy who went postal last weekend, is stepping away from the campaign to deal with his problems.  He and the Trump campaign want us all to know that reports that he is being investigated for absconding with large amount of Trump campaign cash are unfounded which probably means that they’ve reached an agreement that he gets to keep the money as long as he keeps his mouth shut.  Also those bruises on his wife’s arms, they were “misunderstood.”  Pictures and videos of Parscale have been wiped from the Trump campaign website.  Similarly references to Judge Amy Coney Barrett have been scrubbed from the People of Praise charismatic Christian group website.  That’s the group that  opposes abortion and holds that men are divinely ordained as the “head” of the family and faith.  Somehow or other Coney Barrett forgot to mention her membership in the group during her earlier confirmation hearings.  Though the Senate has still not managed to get on board to a new virus relief plan, they have been busy. Yesterday, as part of an effort to rewrite the history of the Russia mess,  Senator Lindsey Graham hosted former FBI Director James Comey who failed to cooperate.  While admitting that the FBI had made some mistakes, Comey insisted that the investigation had been legit and was mostly done by the book with no political motivations.  He also pushed back at the faux intelligence provided by Trump’s newest Director of National Intelligence/lackey Ratcliffe, that’s the crap that tries to blame Hillary Clinton for tricking the FBI into targeting the Trump campaign.  In other news, this morning NBC reported that DHS law enforcement officials were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager charged with fatally shooting two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin because apparently carrying illegal weapons across state lines to kill peaceful protesters is okay in Trump’s America.  A number of right wing and religious groups A/K/A Trump supporters have already raised money for Rittenhouse’s defense.  And lastly, the NY Times reports that CDC head Robert Redfield is considering resigning.  Apparently, the beleaguered official who has been “scolded” by Trump for “promoting mask wearing and cautioning that vaccines won’t be widely available until next year” is really upset that his recommendation that there be no more cruises until February has been overruled by Trump who is way more concerned about placating the Florida tourism industry than saving lives.