I think it’s like a boxer toying with a sparring partner. Once he shows how he can pummel DeSantis, it’s going to put him on the radar for 2028, even sooner should Biden’s health take a nose dive.
Well, Newsom has already been suckered into showing up on Fox, so he’s the sucker already, so far, and I guess we’ll see.
Given the utterly crooked refs in the crooked arena hosting the fight, I think it’s entirely possible everyone will agree afterwards that Newsom lost.
These are not opponents who are constrained in any way by reality.
A Newsom / DeSantis debate on ABC or CNN or hosted by teh League of Woemn voters or whatever I could totally support and agree with your conclusion. But not on Fox.
Yeah, I think Newsom wants to call-out DeSantis as a small man and the weakling he is for these bussing and flying immigrants to woke liberal cities stunts. That, and as you all are saying, be seen on a national stage. I believe Hannity challenged Newsom to debate DeSantis and he immediately accepted (probably to both Hannity and DeSantis’ surprise).
It will be interesting to see how Newsom handles the hostile Fox environment.
I think substantially zero Ds will ever see it.
There are no circumstances under which I will tune into Fox, and I doubt I’m alone in that commitment.
They will own the rights to every frame of that video which they will not permit other news outlets to distribute.
If a Newsom victory is dropped down a RW memory hole, will anyone hear the splash at the bottom? Nope.
I think it’s the best national exposure Newsom could have this year short of running for President himself, which, as a loyal Dem, he won’t do. But soundbites of him pwning DeSantis could very well be useful to him in 2028.
Yeah, but I, at least- will read what political pundit say in their analysis. Just like the GOP debate farce- I wasnt gonna watch it, I just read the reactions.
[quote=“Elendil_s_Heir, post:487, topic:851592”] I think it’s the best national exposure Newsom could have this year short of running for President himself, …
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I fail to see how exposure on Faux could ever be described as the best kind.
(Sorry, I fuckered up that quote in some way.)
Reading the pundits is certainly a way to get some sense of it. And there’s always a few Dopers willing to take one for the team and give us a play by play. Hint hint. 
Another possibility I just thought of is this is part 1 of an agreed two-round matchup. With part 2 still secret / TBD, but planned for another more neutral venue such as CNN etc. Any of the legit MSM. Which of course DeSantis & Faux will say is utterly biased against them, but lying liars gonna lie, so there’s no avoiding that.
If that’s so, Newsom spotting DeSantis home field advantage in Round 1, while keeping the neutral / favorable ground for himself in Round 2 is IMO a much more defensible strategic decision.
The first tag and last tag need to be their own lines, when you started the quote itself on the same line as the opening tag it broke the quote.
[quote=“Elendil_s_Heir, post:487, topic:851592”] I think it’s the best national exposure Newsom could have this year short of running for President himself, …
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Versus:
[quote=“Elendil_s_Heir, post:487, topic:851592”]
I think it’s the best national exposure Newsom could have this year short of running for President himself, …
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Thanks for that. 
Here’s the breakdown of the newest “debates”:
DeSantis is in desperate need of it; his polling has collapsed by double digits over the last several months. And that his performance was devoid of any commanding or otherwise memorable moments means he failed to do what his campaign needed him to do. Whereas he was once the heir apparent in the Republican Party, his political future is anything but apparent.
## A LIE
Taking home the honor of loser and liar is DeSantis, who claimed early on in the debate that his comments suggesting that slaves benefited from slavery were “a hoax perpetrated by Kamala Harris.” Not so much.
I’ve seen a few clips of his performance last night and he always says his talking point and then makes this weird fake smile. It’s downright creepy.
I think that’s the psycho-light showing out of his eyes. It turns the smile into a weird fake thing.
This one might be more like you describe:
More than you probably ever wanted to know about his footwear.
It gets worse.
Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, endorsed him. Ugh.
I kind of believe NBC shared this video just to show him wobbling across the floor in his high heels.
My, but the Awkward is strong in that one.