2020 Presidential Candidates

[Teacher Terry]

I had a good laugh over the false statement that Biden and Trump were the same. They are polar opposites.

[LDAHL]

I didn’t think Trump had much of a shot a month or two ago, but now I think the riots will help more than hurt him, and COVID seems to be receding somewhat in the national consciousness. He seemed to do his best as a backlash candidate, profiting from the resentment of the disdain of certain elites. If he can position himself as the anti-riot guy as opposed to the I-deplore-violence-but approach, and sell the argument that the violence is occurring in places traditionally controlled by Democrats, he may pull it off.

The Democrats have the more complicated tasks of convincing the public that the impact of the virus is largely due to Trump, and that his baleful influence has made the rioting worse. And they need to do it without insulting large segments of the population.

Neither the character issue and promise of vast new government benefits don’t yet seem to have made much of an impact. If that changes in the next few months I would think it will help the Democrats substantially.

[frugal-one]

I had a good laugh over the false statement that Biden and Trump were the same. They are polar opposites.

same here...

[catherine]

Truthfully character means very little to me in this one. I mean if I really felt a politician was promising me something I could believe in, I'd try to evaluate their willingness to deliver, which one might call their character, based on past record,following the money (who is funding their campaign), and personality characteristics (and maybe still be wrong because it's often *still* hard to know!).

But few can seriously believe Biden is the next FDR or whatever they think they can push now (I suppose circumstances force greatness on some but). We have a centrist (and further right than most Dem candidates) politician versus an openly corrupt narcissist. The Dem establishment types he will appoint versus the incompetents Trump appoints. The argument against Trump are in large part conservative Lincoln project type arguments, that he is destroying institutions, and HE IS: the CDC, the FDA, nevermind the EPA etc.. People who trusted such institutions like those in public health scream in anguish. This guy is just tearing apart what somewhat functional institutions we have in this country, it's a lurch toward Latin American style tin pot corruption and deciding that *that* is the future we want in this country. To what degree does a Biden admin have the will to rebuilt as that is where we are at, I don't know.

But what about progressive arguments? The primary was the election. It often is. And well ..

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
EVERYBODY KNOWS THE WAR IS OVER
EVERYBODY KNOWS THE GOOD GUYS LOST
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

(for the Republican convention who had the nerve to play Leonard Cohen but not Everybody Knows, or Democracy, or The Future).

A lot of truth in that. And thanks for the Cohen reference. I'm asking Alexa to play Everybody Knows. I've never heard it.

[JaneV2.0]

I used to vote for random candidates with no chance of even registering, let alone winning. I no longer expect a candidate to be a paragon of perfection; I just want them to share my values as much as possible. Biden is a compromise, but Trump is unthinkable.

[frugal-one]

Every day... today's

President Donald Trump has directed the Office of Management and Budget to crack down on federal agencies' anti-racism training sessions, calling them "divisive, anti-American propaganda".

A Trump administration proposal released Friday would allow the government to deny habitat protections for endangered animals and plants in areas that would see greater economic benefits from being developed -- a change critics said could open lands to more energy development and other activities..... Other steps under Trump to scale back species rules included lifting blanket protections for animals newly listed as threatened, setting cost estimates for saving species and a pending proposal to restrict what areas fit under the definition of "habitat".

[LDAHL]

I had a good laugh over the false statement that Biden and Trump were the same. They are polar opposites.

Polar opposites? True believers are going to truly believe, but that seems to be laying it on a bit thick even for these overheated times.

I think there are many similarities between these two. Both used privileged positions to avoid military service, and then spent the next few decades pretending to be tough guys. Both are prodigious liars and needlessly vindictive. Just ask Curtiss Dunn. Both have compiled impressive ick factors.

If the election comes down to character, I think both sides will have enough ammunition to waste the next couple of months annoying the voters with attack ads. I don’t think either side will be able to convince anyone except the zealots that this is a battle between good and evil. This is going to be more of a hold-your-nose election.

[Yppej]

I had to look up Curtiss Dunn and found this article:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ar...es_142706.html

[Yppej]

There has been apocalyptic language for years -- this is the most important election, the very nature of our government and our our freedom is at stake, etc. Remember the inaugural day protests when Bush got in office, which Michael Moore dramatized with dire warnings? And the country survived.

[frugal-one]

I don't thing the country can survive another 4 years of trump.