mtutiger

Now reading about that movie, I had forgotten that his role came down to him or Gene Hackman.... Hackman is phenomenal, but I don't know if he would have quite gotten to the emotional depth that a movie like that required.

Such a good scene.... and I don't care what the Scorsese people all say, Ordinary People was an Oscar-worthy film.

Between this and outsourcing ground game to Charlie Kirk, a lot of interesting tactical decisions being made Just get the sense that this is a campaign that's getting high on it's own supply

He seemed to have stepped into it with his comments on giving out green cards... not very MAGA. Granted, he'd never do it and just tells people (such as the tech bros on that podcast) what they want to hear.

One underrated thing going into this debate, IMO, is that while incumbent Presidents usually are at a disadvantage going into debate #1 because they are rusty (think Obama v. Romney in 2012), challengers usually are more accustomed to the debate format for having gone through it in the primary cycle. That isn't the case here.... the GOP had primary debates, but Trump ducked every single one of them. And now, apparently, he's not even doing mock debates. Caveat being that some of this may be expectation setting on their part, but regardless it's not hard to imagine that Biden is taking prep more seriously than Trump is.

Even when you have local media these days, views are still colored through the nationalization of media. If you're a sicko like me and read the comments under news articles from local radio / news outlets on Facebook, for instance, it's hard not to notice people bringing in national political figures into discussions about the tax rate being adjusted for the local High School District or otherwise benign local issues. As if Joe Biden or Donald Trump or whoever have any relevance to local property tax rates lol

Their strategy (both the campaign and it's media apparatus at Fox) of lowering expectations to floor-level for Biden may be rhetorical junk food for his base, but it doesn't help either in the grand scheme of things.

We may be underrating the idea that RFK is a non entity when it's all said and done

Interesting but not surprising...

Certainly understand why he has weighed in, and that is likely reflects a majority of his constituents considering the demographics of Dearborn in 2024. But in general, I wish politicians at the local level would just focus on the basic 'blocking and tackling' of government and not draw some much focus / attention onto national politics. Not even saying that he's wrong to have an opinion or express it, but I'm not sure it should completely overshadow his day job either.

Glad at least one outlet noticed...

Uhhh

And, to the extent that he talked about anything policy-wise yesterday, it was that insane "replace income tax with tariffs" idea... If you're a CEO of, say, Target, does that sound good for business to you? Or other retailers? Does that help get more people into stores?

Said it before and will say it again: if you're on this message board posting about politics, you're likely more tuned in than 95%+ of the population on politics. Including some CEOs, believe it or not. The guy has largely been out of the public eye... combine that with Joe Biden having low approval ratings, the time that has passed since Trump's term in office ended, and a population that is a lot more tuned out on politics than it was at this time four years ago, it's not hard to see how people can forget or even lie to themselves about his qualities as a candidate. But just as the CEOs apparently got a reminder of what he's like (or perhaps even the way that he's lost some MPHs on his fastball in the past four years), we all will as well. It doesn't guarantee anything, of course, but regardless of if he wins or loses, he's not going to be able to hide the ball for the next five months.

Of course, that would require them to do actual work and less camera humping.

It's not even just the trial in New York, he's largely avoiding scrutiny as well because he's no longer in the public eye in the way that he was as POTUS. He's not on Twitter, his schedule is less filled out than it used to be, etc. That inevitably will change as we get closer to the election, stuff like yesterday is a good example of that. Whether it matters enough is another discussion.

Just to add to this as well, certainly CEOs are focused on tax policy, but the other thing that they value? Stability. Shareholder value, etc. You get the sense as well that at least some of these guys maybe walked into the meeting thinking that Trump is a standard, generic GOP candidate who would be better in both respects. And that the meeting called that idea into question.

I remember that period of time when conservatives liked to throw the word "c*ck" around toward established Republicans. Clearly it's taken on new meaning in our current era.... The lack of self respect and shame that these guys all exhibit is kinda sad and pathetic IMO... sure, power's on the line and they're gonna do what they're gonna do to get it and / or maintain it, but how willingly people sacrifice their dignity in pursuit of it will always be foreign to me.

Really getting the sense that the CEOs have been tuned out like the rest of us collectively have been... because it shouldn't be surprising that Donald Trump doesn't come across coherent when you actually listen to the guy talk.

The point about not just voting for the person but the administration is an important one. Biden is old, he is frail, like most old people he's slowing down in old age. But with maybe one or two exceptions, his cabinet is top notch and filled with people who, at the end of the day, are capable of administering this government. Trump, on the other hand, will likely be stocking his cabinet with the likes of Stephen Miller, Mike Davis, Devin Nunes, etc.... not only would I not trust any of those guy to run a three car funeral procession (let alone the government), when you listen to their words, they are dangerous as well. Not only will they not guard against Trump's worst impulses, they will fan those flames. It's a tough sell as a mass message to the general voting public, of course, but it doesn't make it any less true.

It's a fair point... he said something similar in his rally in Nevada over the weekend, but the only thing Wisconsin or Michigan is good for in his mind are votes.

It flies under the radar because of the Milwaukee comments, but Trump's idea of replacing the income tax with jacking up tariffs is such a terrible idea, honestly one of his worst. Like, isn't the goal of tariffs to reduce imports? If you're reducing imports, you are going to gradually bring in less in tariffs which, in turn, would lead to less government funding. Which means cuts to government programs that everyday Americans take for granted and higher prices for everyday Americans on consumer goods. I doubt it would happen even if he won, it's too looney tunes for the business wing of his party, but it's a real illustration about how little he understands policy.