This thread is for discussion of the debate, speculation about the debate itself and reaction after the conclusion. If the debate does not actually happen this can die a natural death and Aeschines can say “I told you so.”
I have seen lots of talk online about the mics being turned off when the other is speaking. I also saw it would be 90 minutes long. I have not seen what the question format is. Will each get a chance to answer each question? How long do they have to answer?
These are the main topics I see being asked about. Any others? What specific questions do you think might be asked within those topics?
The economy, specifically inflation.
Immigration, specifically security of the southern border.
Gaza.
Ukraine.
Abortion.
Those seem like the hottest topics to me and the ones that are going to be hit by the PACs in the coming months.
I really wish that both candidates were given without prior notice a blank sheet of paper and a pen with the instruction of drawing a clock with the handles pointing at ten minutes past eleven. I would give them one minute or two, and I would really be intereted in the results.
Won’t happen, I know, but that would be really instructive.
Now imagine both candidates failed abysmally: what would the parties do? And the voters? Would the debate continue as if nothing had happened?
Well the MAGAnuts might not recognize the drawings were wrong.
But the journalists in the TV studio would, I hope. What then?
Of course, it is also possible that both candidates draw the clock perfectly well. It’s just that my guess is at least one of them would not. And the one I mean is not the current office holder.
Two minutes per candidate plus a one-minute followup, no crosstalk.
I’ve been following the other thread and will follow this one, but I have no desire to actually watch the debate. I’d rather go to the dentist. Is anybody else going to find something else to do during the debate and just watch the highlights?
Will they have a stool behind them in case they want to sit a minute?
Water?
Raises hand
That and probably follow along this thread a bit.
I like to read the text the next day, not watch.
If I could watch just one part, it would be the commercials, especially if election related.
I’m going to watch it on the basis of “Witness to history”. This very well may be the exact moment when the United States decides to step back from the brink of disaster, or throw itself into the abyss.
Could there be a question about law and order that somehow covers both ordinary crime and Trump’s crimes?
It looks like the Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s immunity will come down this week. If before the debate, the moderator may ask about that.
When there are three debates, my recollection is that there might be one on foreign policy, one on domestic, and a Town Hall where members of the audience can theoretically ask anything. This time there are just two debates, and I cannot find anything on the web indicating the question areas.
Isn’t that every moment?
Don’t ask me to do that, because I have essential tremor and viewers would look at my wavy, wobbly sorta circle, see that the numbers are shaky and the hands wobbly (but all positioned correctly on the clock) and determine that I must be a creaky old man despite the fact that I’ve been this way since I was 40.
OTOH if Putin challenges me to a high-card draw for world domination, I’ll have to let him shuffle and me cut, or we’ll be picking cards up off the floor all day.
So does my wife.
I wonder if FDR could be elected today. In theory, there was less tolerance of disability back then. But more people were polite enough to ignore it. Today, if you ran for president, there would be hundreds of news articles saying that essential tremor is consistent with presidential duties — thus drawing attention to it.
I think Trump and Biden both have normal age-related memory loss. I’m 69 years old and already have it.
I’ll follow this thread while intermittently reading a book and playing solitaire on the laptop, sipping tea, snacking, and periodically getting up to feed the cats. Won’t even watch the highlights afterward unless Trump has a major meltdown.
I’ve got myself all set up to watch from outside the US…
Really hoping for a major meltdown or cognition failure from Trump.
90 minute debate, 2 minutes per answer. 1 minute rebuttal. Some inevitable overrun on time. Time to ask questions. So, 20 questions or so? I guess it depends on how broad or specific the questions are. If the questions are very specific they can ask more than one per topic. Asking Trump about immunity is probably one that will come up. And it’s a chance for Biden to hit a home run on rebuttal.
I’ll have my bowl of popcorn ready. And an adult beverage.
I predict/hope Trump gets so flustered, he goes all-Mike Tyson and tries to bite Biden’s ear off.