Great. We’re having a another presidential debate tomorrow. I predict it will be a debacle.
I won’t predict who will win, because that is going to be shaped by people’s subjective impressions and the way impressions will be shaped by the media. And one thing I can definitely predict is that the media will fuck it up.
The first thing to say about the hate and scorn currently directed at the mainstream US media is that they worked hard to earn it. They’ve done so by failing, repeatedly, determinedly, spectacularly to do their job, which is to maintain their independence, inform the electorate, and speak truth to power. While the left has long had reasons to dismiss centrist media, and the right has loathed it most when it did do its job well, the moderates who are furious at it now seem to be something new – and a host of former editors, media experts and independent journalists have been going after them hard this summer.
Longtime journalist James Fallows declares that three institutions – the Republican party, the supreme court, and the mainstream political press – “have catastrophically failed to ‘meet the moment’ under pressure of [the] Trump era”. Centrist political reformer and columnist Norm Ornstein states that these news institutions “have had no reflection, no willingness to think through how irresponsible and reckless so much of our mainstream press and so many of our journalists have been and continue to be”.
Most voters, he says, “have no clue what a second Trump term would actually be like. Instead, we get the same insipid focus on the horse race and the polls, while normalizing abnormal behavior and treating this like a typical presidential election, not one that is an existential threat to democracy.”
This debate shouldn’t be happening, because in a functional democracy the senile narcissist running for the Republican party should have been repudiated long ago.
Please, we all know Trump could shit himself and still win.
“When former president and successful self-made businessman Trump (Blessed Be His Name) said he would end unemployment by making it illegal, Genocide Joe’s willing helper and accomplice Karmella Harris rolled her eyes. That shows how childish and unserious she is and that we must have an honest debate over whether she brings the required maturity with her to assume the highest office in this country.”
-Mainstream Media Hacks
The only solution is is ban and shutdown the 24 hour “news” networks. No more ongoing coverage. No more talking heads. Two hour long broadcasts per day, late afternoon and late evening. That’s it.
Keep the channels if you must, but label them what they are: bloated op-ed pages that sometimes stumble into news reporting.
That is…news for ratings has ruined television reporting.
Policy, schmolicy. These debates do nothing to define the candidates on their plans to address the country’s problems, as it’s all about hyperbole, attacks and gotchas. Instead, I assert that if there was a way in the debate for Harris to challenge Trump on his supposed Christian faith, she’d win hands down, even among white evangelicals. Something like, “We’ve all sinned, Mr. Trump, but many have repented of their sins. What sins have you repented, and why?” Being aligned with evil itself, Trump would be prevented from answering.
I don’t watch TV and I wouldn’t bother to watch these so-called debates. I do vaguely recall the Nixon-Kennedy debate (my parents watched) and how it affected the results: Kennedy was dashing and telegenic, Nixon was sweaty. Obviously that has nothing to do with policies or positions on any issue. Nixon learned his lesson, though. He did not attempt another TV debate. He won in 1968 and 1972 without debating his opponent on TV. The next debate after Kennedy-Nixon in 1960, was the Ford-Carter debate in 1976.
Lookie here, Imma journalist!
“Your opponent said that your mother is a hamster and your father stinks of elderberries. What’s your response to that?”
Interview done. Collects paycheck.
As long as we’re framing democracy in terms of winning and losing, I have little hope.
Apparently, the orange shitgibbon made reference to “Leon” Musk and his rockets, and the MSM said absolutely nothing. The NYT is damn near endorsing him. Fuck the MSM and fuck this stupid time-line.
I’m going to listen to it at work anyways. This is a former prosecutor who is always seemingly calm during questioning, against the toddler Trump who has been and will increasingly be unhinged. Elections are won by enough cases of the small majority of voters. And the number of votes which will flip to Harris will be small, with the number of Trump voters opting to favour the couch on election night likely being a bit higher. But those small numbers will become a large number of small numbers.
I think we are living in a transitional period in which neither the United States nor the world as a whole look anything at all like what they will in 20 years. And there are so many possible ways it could play out that I won’t even hazard a guess as to whether the new world order will be an improvement or not. But one thing is clear: The center cannot hold, the current state of affairs is not sustainable, and there’s a long list of things that, if any of them blows up, could be catastrophic. An acceleration in climate change, governments that can no longer pay their bills, all the countries that now have nuclear weapons (with terrorist organizations not that far behind them), the worldwide replacement of what used to be liberal democracies with strongmen regimes, the rise of militia groups, we are literally sitting on multiple ticking time bombs that could go off at any moment.
So at this point I will continue to vote because it’s the only thing I can do about any of it, and even that isn’t much. Otherwise, pass the popcorn.
The comic is clever but it’s not accurate here. The winner of the debate will be decided by the number of “burns” each participant does to their opponent. We’ve officially entered the Idiocracy era of US presidential campaigning.
“We are bringing you live coverage from the September 10th Presidential debates. It’s been shocking so far, Trump has been raving since the first question..worked up a lather worthy of the most rabid gully dwelling mongrel. Our online AI enhanced transcribers can’t even recognize it as a human language. He may in fact be having a stroke.
“Silence has now fallen over the crowd. Even Harris has expressed concern and asked for medical professionals to assist…they are heading over to his podium now, but he seems to be having a bad reaction to them. Oh god, the medics are flinching back! I haven’t heard any shots, but one of them looks half collapsed….what is happening?! Oh my god, i’ve never seen anything like it.
“Trump is now turning around doing a little dance at the podium waving his hands and singing a little song. Down the back of his pants is a disturbing and rapidly growing stain. He’s definitely had some kind of accident. Many of those nearby are vomiting. Keep those cameras rolling! Now trump is doing something odd, he appears to be reaching down the back of his pants to adjust them, but he’s brought up a handful.
“Holy shit! He’s wiped some on his upper lip and is now exhorting his remaining followers to join him in a Nazi salute as he prances like some kind of freakish shit-fuhrer. Some of them are actually doing it, one MAGA supporter has ripped off his t-shirt and is displaying on his considerable gut a full on swastika. Is there literally nothing Trump can’t get away with in the eyes of his adorers? A very sad day for humanity.”
I don’t know your personal circumstances, which may indeed mean that’s the only thing you can do – in which case, yes, continue to do it! But for many people, voting is certainly not the only thing they can do, and the idea that for most people it is the only thing they can do, is itself part of the problem. Closest to voting is giving time andor money to an election campaign. More demanding is getting involve in electoral politics at a higher level – standing as a candidate, or helping to select the best candidates, engaging in policy debates within a party, or taking on an administrative role. Further from electoral politics, joining or donating to pressure groups, writing letters to press or politicians, taking part in community initiatives to improve matters locally, being careful about what you buy and how you travel, investing any money you have where it can actually do some good or at least as little harm as possible, trying to change the views of relatives or friends… Most demandingly, taking part in direct action. At one time or another, I’ve done almost all these (I haven’t stood as a candidate for public office, although I’ve done so within my party) – and there are many, many people who have done and do now far more than me.
Sanewashing Trump too
weylguy @5: No, the Evangelicals will not be moved by that. They have made a strategic choice to support the Republican party no matter what, and in return the Republican party caters to their wishes.
(emphasis mine)
As is standard, we always prefer to blame individuals for the failures of systems, rather than interrogating the systems themselves. I’m sure that most ‘journalists’ would much prefer to be writing in-depth well researched articles about topics that matter, but when our entirely-financialized press demands rapid-fire output and engagement-driving horserace coverage and rage-bait, that’s all we’re going to get.
The rot at the core of our society is finance capitalism – and until we address it, everything will continue to get worse, small groups of elites will enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of society, and the media – well conditioned and understanding its appointed role – will document the fall solely where low-status individuals can be blamed for any specfic ills without addressing the system as a whole.
#13
I could tell it was a fantasy because the media would be focusing on why Harris is not cleaning up the mess that is on stage.
Something bizarre has happened. The NY Times has written a (mostly) unambiguous article about Trump’s cognition problems and age.
https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/09/bulletin-something-has-happened-at-the-new-york-times
I refer you to a new term I learned from the Infinite Thread: “Sanewashing”.
The media ignores the parts of Trump’s speeches that indicate mental issues.
#17 snarkhuntr
This. Over and over again this.
@17 Most actual journalists left the profession a long time ago. I did. I worked primarily as a photojournalist and less frequently, as a writer at a local newspaper. My editor screamed at me for my first written article, which she claimed did not have enough quotes. I pointed out that I was given exactly 3 paragraphs for my article and I chose to fill them with actual facts rather than contextless quotes. As opposed to one of the other writers, who was given a half page horizontal article space and managed to fill the entire article with quotes and literally no facts. His article was about an explosion, mine was about a fire caused by a failing/fallen power line. (Mind you, I also got yelled at for using too many “big words” and was told that the general level of writing was to aim at a 5th grade level of reading comprehension. Not kidding. So naturally I asked if there were any smart kids in their representative reading sample.)
That said, newspapers are unquestionably market-driven and the market doesn’t want real news, they want celebrity clickbait crap and they definitely don’t want any news that challenges their comfortable prejudices. Like Kellyanne Conway, they overwhelmingly prefer alternative facts to real ones. And the market responded accordingly. So now what passes for journalism is lazy writing from hairsprayed idiots, for the most part.
I’ll be watching and no doubt swearing at the telly as Trump lies his arse off and likely goes uncorrected and uncalled on his falsehoods and predictable Gish gallop of bullshit spewed.
Because sadly, as the last one proved, debates can make a big differences and be a factor and sadder still because who becomes POTUS is a world shaping thing affecting everyone on this planet. So, yeah, I’ll view it because I actually get the chance to do so (not working – had usual person for tomorrow cancel on me) and see for myself live.
FWIW. Thinking of my felliow Aussies here, in Adelaide , South Oz time, the debate starts at 10.30 a.m. and is being covered by many channels 7, 9, & the one’s I’ll be wathcing ABC news 24 & SBS.
So, here’s hoping Kamala does exceptionally well and Trump does indeed visibly shit himself.
The media will call it for Trump as they always do. If they would have accurately reported on him, and the danger he posed in 2015, or even better yet completely ignored his birtherism lies in 2010, we would never be in this position. They need clicks, so they will give him good coverage, regardless of what he says. They will interview him and never follow up a question, nor press him for an answer. They won’t point out how racist or misogynistic he is to his face, or interrupt him tantrums. They will talk to Trump voters as if they have something to say and aren’t malicious grossly uninformed and uneducated racists. If they don’t do these things, people won’t tune. Then, when Trump wins, the journalists will write think pieces on how they should have covered Trump, instead of just dragging him and his nihilistic followers.
Holy shit. She absolutely gutted him.
Early days, but not from what I’ve seen so far. Harris won so clearly that even some Trumpoid commentators such as Rod Drehrer admitted that Harris won. As did Christopher Rufo. CNN’s panel gave it to Harris 63:37. Many other Trumpoids have been whining about the moderators actually moderating by fact-checking a few of Trump’s most egregious lies – a clear sign they think he lost. According to Nate Silver https://www.natesilver.net/p/kamala-harris-got-the-debate-shethere is a strong consensus she won, and even the Faux Noise panel seemed to concede she did better.