Flotsam and Jetsam - The Great Debate that Wasn't

First, my take. If judged on style, Kamala won, by a nose, losing less style points by putting Trump on the defensive with the help of the moderators. Judged on policies, Trump won, having actual policies, which you can articulate, like them or not, while Kamala offered mush, or gruel, which ever is thinner. I like they way he got the "pardon me, I'm speaking" dig in and she didn't. Some debate preliminaries, Stacy McCain, Debate Night: America in the Balance. Althouse, Will the debate be balanced, sedate, and unimportant? Or is something exciting about to happen? No, no, maybe, and no. From OTP, How ABC Debate Rules Work Tonight and ABC Coverage of Harris 100% Positive, Trump 93% Negative Ahead Of Debate. Hat Hair's Capt. Ed offers The Three Debate Keys For Trump Tonight -- And One for Kamala. Spec World thinks Kamala has more to lose in the debate than Trump, "The Trump team shouldn’t change anything about its debate approach."  At Racket, Matt Taibbi has Official Donald Trump-Kamala Harris Debate Drinking Game Rules "DRINK EVERY TIME: Harris uses the words felon, extreme, threat to democracy, or for the people. Trump uses the words communist, socialist, radical or Marxist. Double-shot for tampon." Geez, I have a hangover. From the Babylon Bee, Kamala's 7 Debate Demands Revealed "6. Jamaal Bowman must be stationed by the fire alarm: Just in case things aren't going Kamala's way." Also, "Trump Team Reveals Debate Strategy: Trump Will Cede All His Time To Kamala And Then Quietly Play With His Tamagotchi https://buff.ly/4glhmCP." If only. 

You can watch, or rewatch the actual debate at sundance's CTH, ABC 2024 Presidential Debate – Open Discussion and 9:00pm ET Livestream. The Hot Hair folks had a LIVE Blog: The Pivotal (One and Only?) Debate Between Trump and Harris. And at PJM, LIVE Blog: The Trump/Harris Debate We've All Been Waiting For. At the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 09.10.24 (Morning Edition), Stoic Observations, Incubate Debate – An AntidoteTo GenZ Mind Poisoning, kids show how it should be done. 

And now, the recriminations begin, Stacy McCain, Yes, Kamala ‘Won’ That Debate (and Why It Probably Won’t Matter in November) "If any of your Democrat friends try to provoke you into an argument about who won Tuesday night’s debate, avoid the provocation by agreeing that Kamala “won,” and end the conversation immediately." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, 'Debate': My Take. OTP, ABC Moderators Tilted Debate For Harris, Only Fact-Checked Trump. "ABC Moderators Tilted Debate For Harris, Only Fact-checked Trump." Jen Van Laar at RedState, ABC News 'Moderators' Made a Joke of the Presidential Debate. Matt Margolis at PJM, What the Heck Happened in the Trump-Harris Debate? "Let’s start with the obvious: Kamala came in prepared, and Trump, as usual, took the bait more than once. Sure, he got in some good lines and managed to score points on the economy, crime, and border security, but Kamala’s strategy was clear: provoke Trump and let him hurt himself with his own aggression. It worked more than it should have." Matt Vespa at TownHall observes an MSNBC Host Says the Quiet Part Out Loud About the ABC News Debate, Townhall.com@townhallcom, "MSNBC's Nicole Wallace ADMITS that the ABC News moderators were in the tank for Kamala Harris: "David Muir and Linsey Davis played an important role in that..."" Also,  Trump Missed a Chance to Deliver the Knockout Blow to Kamala, But It Might Not Matter. Ryan Saavedra @RealSaavedra, "Vice President Kamala Harris is asked if Americans are better off now than they were under former President Donald Trump. She did NOT answer the question and lied about Trump's economic plan. David Muir failed to note that Harris did not answer the question." Sarah Hoyt at Insty thinks TRUMP DID WELL FOR A CANDIDATE DEBATING THE OPPOSING CANDIDATE AND TWO MODERATORS: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Debate in Philadelphia. NewsBusters, 100%! ABC Debate Moderator David Muir Hosts Most Pro-Harris, Left-Wing Newscast Althouse notices "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there." Ace has a Final Debate Thread. OTP notices Kamala Harris’ Resorts To Smirk Strategy. From the Babylon Bee, Moderators Call Timeout To Huddle And Discuss Strategy With Kamala.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 09.10.24 (Evening Edition), Twitchy: Moderator Linsey Davis Gives Debate Its Candy Crowley Moment, Trump Takes Kamala’s “I’m Talking Now” Moment From Her, Dana Loesch: About Tonight’s Debate, The Lid: Horrible Bias: ABC’s Election Coverage has been 100% Positive for Harris, 93% Negative for Trump. Power Line, A Disaster For Trump?, Victory Girls: Debate Night: The Moderators Take On Trump To Save Harris, The Federalist: If You Want Haitians Eating Cats And Decapitating Ducks In Your Town, Vote For Harris, 25 Lies Kamala Harris Told In Her Debate Against Trump,  Debate Moderators Bringing Up J6 But Not Trump Assassination Attempt Tells You Everything About Media Corruption, Kamala Harris Can’t Stop Talking About GOP Policies Because Hers Are Indefensible, and Kamala Harris’ ‘Veterans’ Platform Is Dishonest Gaslighting At Its Dimmest.

And the big news of the night? From People, Taylor Swift Endorses Kamala Harris After Presidential Debate, Proudly Signs Note ‘Childless Cat Lady’. I assume the vast majority of her fans are die-hard Dems. The Victory Girls sees Women Holding Their Noses To Vote Trump. Althouse cites RFK Jr. "We have to overthrow the entrenched elites who are now ruining our country. So let's get Donald Trump elected....". Sundance, RFK Jr: “A Trump Victory is the Only Way to Get Me in the White House”. End Tribalism in Politics@EndTribalism. "RFK Jr. says Trump admitted to him he didn’t drain the swamp his first term and has asked him to help him drain the swamp moving forward: “He said, I didn't know anything about governing and he said, we won this election, and then all of a sudden, you got to fill 60,000 jobs . . .” The Dersh at Hat Hair, Why I'm Leaving the Democratic Party. Good, but long video at link.  The Pop(ulist) Times, The White Stripes Are Suing Donald Trump for Playing “Seven Nation Army” During Rally, but did they sell the rights to use their music? From Twitchy, Dr. Naomi Wolf (Ridiculously) Blames the Victim For the AP’s Lies About J.D. Vance. 

Ryan King at NYPo, Trump surges 14 points with independents, Latinos shift 19 points in ex-prez’s favor: poll. Liz Stauffer at LI sees Liberals’ Knives Come Out for Nate Silver After His Model Points to a Trump Victory. "Silver: “Harris is in fact on the decline in polls over the past couple of weeks in most of the key swing states.”" But, alas, WaPoo finds Harris leads among Virginia voters, Post-Schar School poll finds. "The eight-point margin for Harris suggests Virginia would be a long-shot for Trump, whom voters view negatively and who is not significantly preferred on any issue." Let's hope it's a fluke, I'd love to see Trump take Virginia. Althouse, ""The candidate who will win the election is the candidate seen as the most able to bring about change, say strategists on both sides." "A New York Times/Siena College poll found 61 percent of likely voters said they want major change from Biden." And "Some scholars have been surprised by their findings about gender and how candidates translate to viewers." The Pop Times, Nikki Haley Tells Fox that Trump and Vance Should Change How They Speak About Women. The Babylon Bee@TheBabylonBee "Breaking: If Elected Trump Promises To Create A Derogatory Slur For Canadians https://buff.ly/3MCrCZF." At AMP America, PA Chase Founder Announces GOP Has 85% Surge in Mail-In Ballot Requests in Pennsylvania. Still not matching democrats. 

Stacy McCain, Springfield Gets What It Deserves, they voted for it. cdrsalamander@cdrsalamander, "Until last year, except for a four year period in the 1990s, from 1990-2023, the mayor of Springfield, OH was the late Warren Copeland. Copeland since the late 1970s was an associate professor at nearby Wittenberg University, a private liberal arts college.. . ."    Dave Strom at Hat Hair VIP, Media Goes Apoplectic Over Springfield Haitian Stories. And Eric Swalwell Has a Complete Meltdown Over Trump Cat Memes. Matt Margolis, Seriously? Democrats Are Flipping Out Over Cat Memes. End Wokeness@EndWokeness, "JD Vance jokes about cat ladies Cat ladies mad,  Cats go missing after 20,000 Haitian immigrants are sent to a small town Cat ladies doze. Althouse,"In MAGA world, the alleged pet-eating is already a matter of fact..." "... and Republican elected officials, including Vance, are hurrying to join the clout rush, the scramble to get attention and likes and followers by treating it as a serious issue." Insty, THE HAITIAN CAT STORY HAS LEGS. LITTLE FURRY ONES. Whiners Cry Racism in 3 … 2 … 1: Here Are the BEST, Funniest Cat Memes Prowling Around on Twitter/X. The Spec world calls it The meme election "The Kamala Harris campaign clearly isn’t about policies or speeches; it’s about willing her presidency into existence."

They didn’t just let him in.

They used taxpayer money to fly him (unvetted) over 1,600 miles across an ocean, under cover of darkness. https://t.co/tnCU18v9Su

— John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) September 9, 2024

At Hat Hair, a video Moms Call Out Democrats for Doing Nothing While Their Children Died, "These mothers testified today before the House Judiciary Committee about the devastating results of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' wide open border." Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair VIP reports Aurora Apt. Complex Owner Forced to Sell After Gang Takeover. Hat Hair cites Another Tren de Aragua Takeover in Texas?. Da Blaze, Illegal alien votes in 'multiple' US elections after stealing identity of American citizen, DOJ alleges. But I heard they don't do that!

Da Fetched sees a CNN Polling Expert Gives Kamala Harris Bad News after Fatal Mistake. Matt Vespa has More Bad News Hits Kamala on Night of Crucial Debate With Trump. Capt. Ed finds it Too Ironic to Check: Did Kamala Plagiarize ... Joe Biden?  PJM's VodkaPundit wonders Is This the Sign Pelosi Doesn't Think Harris Can Win? Resist the Mainstream @ResisttheMS, "Man TROLLS Nancy Pelosi: "What stocks should I buy?" Do you think Nancy Pelosi is corrupt? Share your thoughts below." Da Caller, ‘What Stocks Should I Buy?’: Security Drags Away Comedian Who Trolled Nancy Pelosi At Her Own Book Event. 

Bob Spencer worries Democrats will Get Kamala Harris Into the White House With This One Weird 184-Year-Old Trick  "During that campaign, Nicholas Biddle, the former president of the Bank of the United States and a powerful Harrison backer, directed that the candidate should stay quiet about virtually everything: “Let him say nothing—promise nothing. Let no Committee, no Convention, no town meeting ever extract from him a single word about what he thinks now and will do hereafter. Let the use of pen and ink be wholly forbidden as if he were a mad poet in Bedlam.”" Matt Margolis, WOW! Even CNN Thinks Kamala Harris’s Record Is Extreme. Da Blaze says Kamala Harris is pro-worker like McDonald’s is pro-cow. John Sexton at Hat Hair remembers Kamala Harris Really Believed in Medicare for All in 2019. Dave Harsanyi at WaEx says Explain yourself, Kamala Harris! What's to explain, she wants power and she doesn't want to be tied down to any tedious positions. 

Rick Moran at PJM, House Report on Afghanistan Withdrawal Indicts Biden for Stupidity and Poor Planning. Jazz Shaw, Kamala Blames Trump for Disastrous Afghan Withdrawal. Fred Fleitz at Am Great writes With the November Election Looming, Biden Officials Are Suddenly Condemning Hamas. "We need a decisive and pro-Israel president with an America First approach to U.S. national security to restore American leadership and global peace and stability. We need Donald Trump." Capt. Ed adds "And while still pressuring Israel to make more concessions to Hamas. It's a change of spin rather than substance, but even that change is notable. Perhaps Dems have realized that appeasing the Dearborn faction is a net negative in an electorate where 80% of voters support Israel over Hamas."

🚨HOLY SH!T🚨

This is an unearthed ABC profile of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in 1995.

Your jaw is about to hit the floor… pic.twitter.com/W6oO30AUY6

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 10, 2024

Shailene Woodley

Ben Whedon at JTN reports Melania Trump wants answers on husband's shooting: 'More to this story'.  "The attempt to end my husband's life was a horrible, distressing experience. Now the silence around it is heavy."  Dave Strom, Melania Trump: 'There Is Definitely More to This Story'. OTP, Trump Blames Dems For Assassination Attempt In Heated Debate "Trump Blames Dems For Assassination Attempt In Heated Debate . . . "I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things they say about me,"" and  Trump Reveals Bullet ‘Got Blood On It.’ Freddie DeBoer says You Have to Be an Absolute Lunatic to Believe That the Trump Assassination Attempt Was an "Op". "I find the rise of BlueMAGA very disturbing, and I’m surprised more people don’t." From Roll Call, Secret Service says Trump security failure wasn’t result of budget "Agency responds to senators about spending needs amid 2024 election." So, they deliberately withheld resources for Trump's security. Fox reports Homeland Security USSS assistant director encouraged to retire over Butler assassination attempt on Trump. "USSS preparing to brief Congress soon about lessons learned from Trump assassination attempt on July 13." From Hollywood in Toto, Shailene Woodley Shares Shocking Reaction to Trump Shooting "'Descendants' star's progressive circle bared its fangs over the news"

Charlotte Hazard at JTN, DOJ official calls DA Alvin Bragg and AG Letitia James 'Idiots' who run New York like the wild west "In the video shared to X, Biase accused Bragg of “lawfare” to further his political career, according to the New York Post. He called the case "nonsense" and "a perversion of justice."

Rick Moran says The Real Story About Russian Interference Is How Stupid the Left Thinks You Are. Meanwhile, John Schindler at Top Secret Umbra reminds us Democrats Have a Serious Chinese Espionage Problem. 

From the Fix, Brown U. trustee resigns over divestment vote: ‘Morally reprehensible’. John Sexton rhetorically wonders Why Hasn't Harvard Released Enrollment Data?

At Spiked, ‘The Sun will rise tomorrow and men still won’t be women’ "Sall Grover on her fight for women-only spaces in Australia."

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Enthusiasm! and FMJRA 2.0: The Beatings Will Continue Until The Season Concludes ready and waiting at The Other McCain.