I have been working at the polls for over five years now. My job is checking in voters using a "poll book," which is a little i-pad type device.
We used to have clunky lever machines, which had certain charms, including an actual curtain. Now, voters fill out a ballot and hand feed it into the scanner. There is also a little used ballot marking machine, which can be used by anyone, particularly those with disabilities.
There was no primary race at the local polling place, so I had to trudge around a half hour to another one. It was in the basement of an apartment building. AOC and the incumbent state assemblyman had basically token opponents.
The big Bronx (Westchester) race was Jamaal Bowman losing big to some white "pragmatic" candidate who libeled him via offensive campaign ads. Bowman lost his district. The Westchester official fit its brand more. An unfortunate result of local democracy.
We have early voting now, so it is not surprising that there was limited turnout in my polling place, especially for one smaller than many. We had around 100 voters. Things mostly went without a hitch. A blowhard Republican voter (no candidates) came and acted out a bit.
I am somewhat refreshed each time by civics in action, even if I have to get there at 5 A.M. and stay there until after 9 P.M. (with two breaks). Let's see how things go in November. It went okay back in 2020.
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Yes. The title of this entry is a reference to the presidential debate. Many people didn't think it would happen. I hoped it would not.
Trump handled debates in the past. Those who thought he would try to avoid it misjudged things. He can Gish Gallop (spew lies in rapid succession) while looking energic doing so. If it was a real "debate," with careful press handling of things, it might be harder. But it's not.
The two links are honest accountings. They do not ignore that President Biden looked tired and had a hard time strongly pressing back hard. The importance of debates is far from clear. You still cannot handwave them, especially when your performance furthers the negative frame put on you.
They also remind us of two things. (1) this is just one debate; it isn't the end of the whole deal. We will have clowns talk about him stepping out. Knew we would have them. Won't happen. Shouldn't happen.
[This is where we are at. The same person who ridiculed such talk not that long ago posts this after a bad debate. Okay.]
(2) Bottom line, there is only one sane choice.
And, as another person notes, we have a reason to have faith in that person. If "faith" turns you off, use some other word. His record speaks for itself. His struggle, especially with a cold and overpreparation [it is not like he was bad in each debate in 2020], in this specific setting doesn't change that.
She also notes:
What bothers me most about last night was not Biden’s performance, but rather the anonymous quotes that were coming from the Biden team and supposedly heavy hitters within the Democratic Party. The same people who decided that these debates were an excellent idea decided to tell the press, that they were seriously worried about Biden’s performance and freaking out.
Yes. I checked Talking Points Memo, since in the past that was a useful place to get a summary of a debate as it went on. Right off the bat, it was "oh no!" type stuff. Ditto some online comments. This is typical. Many people really stress out, which is understandable given the stakes.
Still, bottom line, you have to focus. If Trump faltered, would his people publicly shakingly focus on his faults? It's fine to "keep it real" to some extent. But I'm tired of so much doom-ing and doomscrolling-type things. You cannot have that coming from insiders and surrogates!
I didn't want this damn debate in the first place. Why have a debate in June? I have enough to write about regarding all the shit happening at the Supreme Court. Seriously, there seems to have been a bit where Biden's people (and I guess Biden himself) wanted to turn the tables.
Trump is the one who should be seen as working from a point of weakness. President Biden is in office. He did a lot of great things. A debate, especially since the press will focus on his weaknesses either way, was not going to be a good cost/benefit proposition.
Anyway, it's done. Other candidates, even Obama, had bad debates. The only sane choice is still President Joe Biden. Why? The alternative is a felon, sexual predator, insurrectionist, and totally incompetent. And the incumbent accomplished so much and is deep down a competent and good person.
Live and learn. Do better next time and win in November.