Didn't watch any of the townhalls yesterday. Figured the baseball game was better. It didn't turn out that way as the Dodgers got clobbered. The townhalls went about as expected, according to the pundits, with Trump fighting the moderator and Biden being too boring with details. But there were a few surprises.
I had expected that Trump will get the better ratings since he is bombastic and try to make absurd claims all the time. Being a reality tv guy, I would think he knows how to get better ratings. People hate to admit it but they watch car races awaiting for an accident to occur. If it is just cars going around in circles, fewer people would watch for sure. But the preliminary ratings had ABC with Biden beating the combine ratings of NBC, MSNBC and CNBC with Trump. One of Trump's aides had said that Biden's townhall looks like Mister Rogers Neighborhood. So I guess Mr. Rogers beats train wreck this time!
Trump, having feasted of softballs from Fox all the time, had trouble answering hard balls from Guthrie. He basically admits not having tested himself before the first debate, admitted that he only paid a small sum of taxes, admitted that he owes $400 million. He also refused to condemn the conspiracy theories put out by QAnon. You would think that without an opponent to attack, he would have to answer questions from the moderator and the audience. Yet he had no good answers. Well, maybe there are no good answers possible.
Chris Christie is discharged, which is good. He also admits he has been wrong. At least his bout with the virus changed his outlook. That is unlike Trump who did not see the light but instead doubled down. He will never change.
Two and a half weeks left till the election. Will we finally get rid of this guy or will we turn into a banana republic with a dictator trying to hold on to power and total chaos erupt in the country?
What are your thoughts on Kershaw? He is supposed to be an ace but he seems to be hurt too often and chokes in the playoffs. Though apparently he has done well in the playoffs this year but he got outpitched last night. The Dodgers have a huge payroll but they can't get over the hump.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Trump is doing a bunch of rallies with people not wearing masks again. I guess these people don't learn. It'll be interesting to see if there is a big spike in all these cities after he leaves. Heck, he might even get the virus again. At this point, I don't even want to see a 2nd debate since it won't make any difference.
I heard that Obama will do some campaigning this week. It'll be interesting to see if it helps. It seems like he couldn't get African Americans to go out and vote for Clinton in 2016. I do think they needed to get him or his wife out to campaign where Harris would have been just to make up for her absence.
-LBOAYM
It is hard to say about Kershaw. He is obviously not the pitcher he was a few year ago. But even then he had trouble in the postseason. Usually he pitched well in those games but gave up couple of homeruns to lose a close game. I think that his stuff is not overpowering and he is successful because he spots his pitches most of the time. During the season he faces mostly mediocre hitter who may foul off his mistakes. In the postseason more of the hitters on good teams are able to take advantage of your mistakes. So he can pitch 6 great innings but a couple of big hits cause him to lose. Same with some hitters who hit 300 in the season but 180 during the playoffs due to more good pitchers he faces. But a hitter who goes 1 for 5 but hits a 3 run homer is a hero but the pitcher who gives up that 3 run homer is now the goat.
ReplyDeleteI am sure these rallies cause spikes and some have already showed. Some may not be reported even if people did get sick from them. I don't want to see a second debate either. There will be nothing new in the behavior or talking points of either one. If there are undecided voters left, they will not vote for Biden if Trump is behaves even worse next time. If you don't hate Trump by now, you probably never will. Biden falling sharply may lose him some votes, however. So I don't see any upside of Biden debating Trump next week. He will have to do it so that they can't say he chickened out. But if anything comes up that may lead to cancelation, it will be great.
Obama is not going to bring in any new voters for Biden but he may get a bigger turnout for those who would vote for Biden but not enthusiastic enough to stand in line for hours. Michelle would definitely help, especially if Harris is out. With so little time left, may as well go all out with all hands on deck, especially in swing states.
I can't believe the Dodgers came back to win the series. Hopefully they will beat Tampa Bay. The bullpen did a good job in game 7. It'll be interesting what game Kershaw starts. He looks to be in line for game 1 if not then game 2. The signing of Betts payed off. They just need his bat to come alive now.
ReplyDeleteTrump has really started to distance himself from the center the last week. He is just pandering to his core, which I'm not sure he can win with. I'm hoping that his antics turns off those in the middle who voted for him last time. I saw footage of him at a church in Vegas where many in the venue did not wear a mask. Could there be another spike there? What about these other rallies he is having in hotspots? I would not risk going to the polls to vote this year since it sounds like many precincts are not even checking for Covid and that there might not be any mask or social distance enforcement. I'm glad I voted early!
-LBOAYM
Kershaw has to start game 1 as Buehler and Urias are not available till games 3 and 4. I don't know who they will start game 2. Roberts surprised everyone by starting May on game 7 and almost backfired. If the Dodgers lost, Roberts would be hanged for that decision. They got lucky with the Braves' poor baserunning. Betts saved them 3 games in a row with his defense. I think the better team did win but that have not always worked out for the Dodgers in the past.
ReplyDeleteIf Trump thinks Fauci and other scientists are idiots, then he should not let doctors who are scientists treat him when he got sick. How come he didn't take hydroxychloroquine like he advocated when he got sick? I think the idiots, besides Trump himself, are his doctors in the WH. I think all people, who believe in Trump and Drs. (?) Atlas and Conley, should only be allowed to be treated by those idiots if they got sick. Since they don't believe in science, then they should be treated by doctors who don't believe in science either.
Did you see the video of Trump dancing to YMCA? It is funny and sad. He is possibly the worse dance I have ever seen. He danced worse than someone with no legs because he never moved his feet at all. The only thing that would be more funny is if Pence had dance to that song!
CNN is reporting that a Chinese scientist, supposedly in hiding, claims that the COVID virus was started in a Wuhan lab. She is found to be funded by Steve Bannon and Miles Guo who advocated for the overthrow of the Chinese government by forming the New Federal State of China. This woman's paper has been debunked by reputable scientists in the U.S. as being fake. Nevertheless, it is widely circulated in conservative media. I think it is an attempt to deflect blame for Trump as the election nears. I have said that Trump will attack China and may even force a confrontation with China right before the election.
ReplyDeleteThis may not go far but if millions in the U.S. read this and believe China was intentionally releasing the virus, there could be trouble. On the other side, if the Chinese government elect to publish American scientists debunking this paper and say that since Bannon was part of the U.S. government and have advocated to overthrow the Chinese government, it can stir Chinese nationalism to a fever pitch. Chinese Americans, be very careful!
Is it possible that this scientist was paid by Bannon (with Trump's blessing) to develop the virus?
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Dodgers go, I have to give it up to Kershaw for a nicely pitched game on Tuesday. The question is can he do it again? As I am typing, the Dodgers are down 5 to 2 in the bottom of the 5th. Hopefully they can come back in the game. Is it me or have both managers used a lot of their bullpens? Turner has just stuck out. Too bad. They just blew a chance to get back into the game.
-LBOAYM