# Clinton v Trump - The Stretch Run Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 30, 2016, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277 "2016-09-30T11:21:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 201
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4005 "2016-10-29T04:33:19Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Comey in turn has to report that information to the congressional committees, since it is a change from his previous testimony. If he did not do so, he would be in danger of being in contempt of Congress. By this line of reasoning, any person who ever testifies before Congress is required to immediately inform them if the circumstances that they testified to ever changes. Is there a time period after which this is no longer true? The whole concept is just bizarre to me. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4006 "2016-10-29T04:35:50Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > It also makes Pence and Trump look defanged when they noticed that they are demanding the same as Hillary does from the FBI. They said it first. She is just copying them. _Plagiarism!_ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4007 "2016-10-29T04:39:39Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The FBI is supposed to be above politics. Regardless of which party is trying to pressure them. > > People need to watch that video of Hillary. She was seething mad. A printed transcript doesn’t convey that intensity. Huh. The statement she made that is posted on the Times piece you linked to? Seriously? I sure do not see “seething”. Did they change the video? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4008 "2016-10-29T04:44:57Z")
> [@](#): > > By this line of reasoning, any person who ever testifies before Congress is required to immediately inform them if the circumstances that they testified to ever changes. Is there a time period after which this is no longer true? The whole concept is just bizarre to me. Maybe, but he was assigned to investigate, which is more direct responsibility than just testifying. And I think we may rest assured that he was assigned to investigate very jot and tittle. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4009 "2016-10-29T04:46:57Z")
It’s time to see if Trump will gamble his money and try a hail Mary pass. Blanket the tv stations (key states) with political ads. Focus on the FBI’s reopened email investigation and alleged abuses in the Clinton Foundation (wikileaks). Focus on Trump’s reputation for building and running a large business. Hit Hillary hard until election day. It might work. It might not. I think it’s his only chance? Is there anything else he can do in these final days of the campaign? Trump will have to pony up his own money. Reports say he’s underfunded. It didn’t make sense to pour more money into a losing campaign. Things changed after the investigation reopened. But, is Trump willing to risk more of his own money? He needs to contribute more money. [https://www.google.com/amp/www.cnbc.com/amp/2016/10/28/trump-gives-only-30000-to-campaign-making-little-progress-toward-100-million-pledge.html?client=ms-android-motorola](https://www.google.com/amp/www.cnbc.com/amp/2016/10/28/trump-gives-only-30000-to-campaign-making-little-progress-toward-100-million-pledge.html?client=ms-android-motorola) ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4010 "2016-10-29T05:04:35Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The reason for the letter is explained in a quote in the other thread specifically on the e-mails: Comey had previously testified under oath to congressional committees that the FBI had concluded its investigation into the portion of the e-mails relating to Clinton’s activities. > > Now that the FBI has uncovered these additional copies of e-mails, it has to investigate them. > > Comey in turn has to report that information to the congressional committees, since it is a change from his previous testimony. If he did not do so, he would be in danger of being in contempt of Congress. > > And that’s why the letters went to Republicans: the Chairs of all of the committees are Republicans, so he sends the letter to the Chairs. The Chairs then presumably distribute the letter to all members of their committees. Yeah, that’s Comey’s explanation for why he went haring off to congress. I’m not inclined to accept his rationalization. Comey never explains why he feels that he is obligated to report to Congress before he even takes a moment to find out what the emails say. The whole rationalization is screwy. If Comey told the truth at the time last summer, that his investigation was over and he didn’t see any criminal charges that should be pursued, he’s not going to be facing criminal charges if something new and different turns up. And just why is the case still open today? At what point is Comey’s investigation going to be closed? Is he planning to investigate any email that tangentially mentions Hillary Clinton for the next eight years? If Comey had wrapped up his investigation last summer, like he said he would, he wouldn’t find himself suddenly wanting to change his testimony on the off chance that some emails he hasn’t investigated might be relevant. And you know - now we’ve got reports that the emails aren’t even to or from Clinton. Wouldn’t that have been good information to ascertain before rushing off and telling the Republicans that Comey had new Clinton emails to look into? I just don’t find Comey’s explanation for his actions to be very reasonable or believable. I don’t trust his impartiality in the slightest. And you know - there was at least one Democrat who deserved a heads up in this matter. She didn’t make the CC list, either. Again - I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Comey didn’t feel a need to alert Clinton that he was still on the case, despite have testified otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4011 "2016-10-29T05:12:18Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Huh. The statement she made that is posted on the Times piece you linked to? Seriously? I sure do not see “seething”. Did they change the video? Yeah, if that is seething then Jennifer Hawkins, the 2004 Miss Universe winner from Australia. was angry when Trump did grab it and forcibly kissed her. > **[A newly surfaced video shows Donald Trump grabbing and kissing a former Miss...](http://www.vox.com/identities/2016/10/28/13459750/trump-video-miss-universe-grab-kiss-jennifer-hawkins)** > > He sexually humiliates her in front of thousands. > [@](#): > > A disturbing video from a 2011 corporate speech shows Donald Trump sexually humiliating a woman in front of thousands of people and going in for what appears to be a nonconsensual kiss, the Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim reports. That Miss Universe did not complain and looked as if she did not mind, but one really does not know how she reacted later to the humiliation that she endured there and not only by acts that Trump did but also how she was humiliated. But that is not the only point of the video. It is how it shows that Trump does not care how long it will take to get his revenge from anyone that crosses him, he will get it; besides being a pig, he will be a danger to all, but specially to all that have opposed him so far; it should worry all that he could become more powerful. Guys like him want power to humiliate their fellow citizens that are his enemies regardless of how costly it will be for the country. For enemies out there, torture and nukes for all. Heck no. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4012 "2016-10-29T05:12:54Z")
I have mixed feelings about Comey’s impartiality and nonpartisanship, but if he didn’t say anything, the fact that new emails had come up would almost certainly leaked, and then there’d be a GOP shitstorm about him trying to keep it secret until after Election Day. Given his earlier testimony before Congress, some sort of public announcement was probably inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4013 "2016-10-29T05:18:53Z")
Trump has already declared her 100% guilty of high crimes, misdemeanors, treason, treachery and skulduggery. The facts as we know them do not support any level of certainty. Therein lies the potential problem: Il Douche does not deal well with contradiction. Speaker Ryan has made the jump with him, by demanding that classified briefings be withheld from her, regardless of any potential Presidential status. Thereby declaring her guilty, just as Trump did. Trump expects the FBI to bear him out, and he expects Congressional Republicans to line up behind him, lockstep. But Comey’s letter is not even really an indictment, much less a verdict. And anybody who can read will know that. If Comey really is the paragon of integrity that his legend says, he will be compelled to point this out. (If he is a partisan whore, he faces no such dilemma.) Trump demands condemnation, Clinton demands clarification, and he’s gonna have to say _something_. He just repeats what he has already said, he will be sticking his thumb in Trump’s eye. Of course, Trump may just graciously accept this rebuke, and move on. And you and I are _both_ the Queen of Romania! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4014 "2016-10-29T05:23:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Sorry. US cultural reference. But with a deliberate double \*entendre \*there as you inferred. Interesting. Thanks for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4015 "2016-10-29T05:27:11Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Comey wrote to a whole bunch of people. This wasn’t a private communication. He didn’t write to Hillary, of course. Just a bunch of Republicans. How about that. > > JFTR, Here’s the people Comey sent the letter to: JFTR and all, you may want to notice that he addressed [the letter](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/28/us/politics/fbi-letter.html) to committee chairs _and CCed the ranking minority member of all the same committees on the same letter._ Your complaint is groundless. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4016 "2016-10-29T05:35:31Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I have mixed feelings about Comey’s impartiality and nonpartisanship, but if he didn’t say anything, the fact that new emails had come up would almost certainly leaked, and then there’d be a GOP shitstorm about him trying to keep it secret until after Election Day. Given his earlier testimony before Congress, some sort of public announcement was probably inevitable. OTOH, he said something and - oh, look! It’s a GOP shitstorm! Even if we accept Comey’s rationalizations, there’s still no excuse for his a) writing a vague letter implying that he is going to change his previous testimony about his conclusions and b) not even taking the weekend to look through these emails and see if they have any significance. That last is especially egregious if it turns out to be true that these emails are not from or to Hillary Clinton. There’s a reason why everyone read Comey’s letter and though he was saying that he wanted to reopen the investigation. Notice how Comey hasn’t made any effort to rein in Trump and the rest of the Republicans who are claiming that now they will get satisfaction? Notice how Comey hasn’t provided any actual details that Clinton has asked for? I believe that Comey got the exact response he was hoping for when he dropped that turd in the punchbowl. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4017 "2016-10-29T05:37:47Z")
> [@furt](#): > > JFTR and all, you may want to notice that he addressed [the letter](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/10/28/us/politics/fbi-letter.html) to committee chairs _and CCed the ranking minority member of all the same committees on the same letter._ Your complaint is groundless. I apologize. I had only seen the first page of that letter posted, with the names above the body text. I didn’t realize it continued for three pages with more names. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4018 "2016-10-29T05:49:23Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I have mixed feelings about Comey’s impartiality and nonpartisanship, but if he didn’t say anything, the fact that new emails had come up would almost certainly leaked, and then there’d be a GOP shitstorm about him trying to keep it secret until after Election Day. Given his earlier testimony before Congress, some sort of public announcement was probably inevitable. Thing is that based on what I saw today, I do not think that the FBI did not know about items like were the emails were coming from, and how they were likely to be known already. At the very least a line about how this could involve others and not Clinton would be ok, because IIUC the FBI does not want to tip others so that even if Clinton was the target here the FBI would had taken all into a false sense of security by removing all political use of this item by just reminding all that Clinton was already found to not deserve an indictment, **in the ongoing investigation**. That these “new” emails being investigated are so far a supplement of the past investigation and just possibly they may not amount to anything. Things is that his message **can** be read like that, but it also included bits that allowed the Republicans to find political “gold”. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4019 "2016-10-29T05:50:10Z")
> [@](#): > > … I didn’t realize it continued for three pages with more names. Wouldn’t have made any real difference, anyway. Even if he only addressed the Republicans about it, its not like they were going to keep quiet. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4020 "2016-10-29T06:30:35Z")
> [@Evil\_Economist](#): > > I saw a story, from when he was running for president, that his senate retirement package would pay more than his senate job. Basically he could earn more from being retired than from working. Correct. Presuming that Vice President Biden has been participating in the applicable retirement system for the entirety of his career (43 years), he is eligible to receive 80% of average of his top three years of earnings as his pension. Since he’s been Vice President ($230,700/year) for eight years, that’s going to come to $184,650/year,m which outstrips his Senate salary of $174,000. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4021 "2016-10-29T07:08:10Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > And you know how to fix bugs, but you can’t tell anyone. Bugs have ears, and they hide when you look for them. They hide when they know you’re coming. Donald Knuth would be spinning in his grave, spinning faster than one of those fancy new memory drums IBM has these days, they’re great, you can interleave opcodes, spinning in his grave if he knew that we hadn’t obfuscated all our Perl so the bugs couldn’t read it and figure out we were coming. > > Also, you type big-league code. You use patterns. You have the best patterns, especially the Visitor pattern. You hit the keys so hard even your assembly code is strongly-typed. 🙂 But … nitpick … Donald Knuth still lives. Just a few weeks ago he reminisced before an audience at San Francisco’s main public library. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4022 "2016-10-29T08:00:31Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Comey said he has no idea if the emails are meaningful. Other officials have told various reporters (LA Times, NYT, AP) that the emails aren’t to or from Clinton or her personal server, and thus unrelated to the previous investigation. The LA Times’ contact seems to think these might be copies of stuff that the FBI has already seen. > > I would set your outrage meter for “bullshit” unless Comey can actually produce something that resembles evidence of wrongdoing. Done, thanks. Until I hear some more about the actual content, my outrage burns with the heat of a thousand Hot Pockets. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4023 "2016-10-29T13:26:45Z")
Well if Facebook is any indication, nobody seems to give a shit about the emails except Republicans who already hate Hillary. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277/4024 "2016-10-29T13:34:01Z")
The polls tell a different story though: Clinton +3.8. Lead’s been cut nearly in half from a week or two ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277.md?page=200) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clinton-v-trump-the-stretch-run-thread/767277.md?page=202)