It was one of the most consequential debates in US history. The other being Reagan-Carter where "there you go again Jimmy" Reagan normalized himself enough in the public's eye to win. If Carter had just denied Reagan that debate, Carter still might have won.

The debate lost it.

if the press didn't go crazy about it, and democrats didn't throw Biden under the bus. Meanwhile, Trump just does whatever the hell he wants.

What were supposed to do, report a victory for Biden?

Would have been all about the bold-faced LIES spewed by one of the candidates.

Instead, they latched onto it like pit-bulls for a month---
while ignoring every shred of evidence which suggested
that Trump was in much worse mental shape than Biden--

because "Trump has always been crazy", or some such excuse.

no matter what.

If Trump had debated her a second time closer to the election, she would have likely won the election. The GOP spent all of their effort painting her in a negative light-- but that doesn't work as well when you see the person live on TV making points and kicking Trump's ass.

she made an ASS of him at the first debate (well, OK, an ever BIGGER ASS of him!) - he opted NOT to debate again - and a majority of 'Americans' (sic) thought he was the better candidate.

We have problems - SERIOUS problems........................

God help us all.

And too doped up to answer a simple question?

When the Biden - Trump debate ended, I said to my husband: "that's it. We've lost."

After the Kamala - Trump debate, I started feeling optimistic again.

hadn't committed TREASON by conspiring with IRAN, our foreign enemy, Carter would have won...........

I am thoroughly convinced that HW was one, if not THE person, hiding in the Republican's Deep State shadows, starting in the Reagan Era, and continuing to operate in the back ground for decades, all the way through the WBush years......

Reagan, and WBush were mere puppets, put up as a distraction, while the RepubliCONs did their dirty work in the shadows, and utilized smoke and mirrors to block the view.......Trump did the same thing, utilizing himself to detract attention daily, while the Republican Senators, Uber rich Republicans went to work, in addition, the Republican owned media, RW think tanks and Putin were assisting in every single way possible.....

Carter's debate prep team failed to prepare him about *Gish Gallop*......... a technique THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT TRUMP WOULD USE......
It is an age old, well known technique in debating that literally just stuns the debate opponent, to where they can't say a single retort...

re: Nancy Pelosi, and many many many other Dem Politicians, don't get me started......................

BTW, in 2000 W created the election stealing roadmap that tRump used in 2020 and continues to use.

HWBush when he was VP under Reagan.....

Many of HWBush's CABAL ended up in WBush's administration.....

It was the Bush brothers who killed American democracy in 2000 in broad daylight and got away with it. This created tRump's election stealing 2020 road map. In addition, it was W's terrible economic policies that tanked the economy in favor of the rich and caused the layoffs of so many white, anglo working class men. On top of that, people were horrified to watch their votes get thrown out in 2000 and have decided that democracy no longer works for them. Certainly Cheney played a role in helping W steal the 2000 election which is why I think is daughter Liz is now the biggest hypocrite in D.C. Our country would not be in the mess it's in today without the Bush 2000 election theft.

Do these types go deeper than optics?

Trump should have been incommunicado, internet removed, locked up or threatened into silence by friendly neighborhood black ops guys — if not prosecuted right away, something else that took him off of the podium.

Any “the buck stops here” kind of president would have done so, in my opinion.

He probably had Covid after coming back from his travels and was actually sick during the debate. Not an excuse. If you watch the debate again you will see that Biden answered every question. He may have had a dazed look from time to time but he did answer the questions even when the moderators were managing poorly! You will see that TSF answered none of the question but followed with lies and raised voice. My guess is Biden did the best he could. Canceling the day before would also have been a losing venture! It is always lose lose for Biden against the TSF.

there was an awefull lot of wheeling and dealing behind the scenes and behind Bidens back than we'll ever know. Politics being politics. Jill probably got an unfirunate and dissapointing glimpse into that.

I will probably never get over feeling like the party threw Joe away like a used Kleenex, and if those in charge of messaging been able to do a better job of it during the whole term, maybe the poor debate wouldn't have mattered so much.

All the praise for Joe's long list of accomplishments after he decided to step aside rang very hollow to me.

Remember what her daughter said about her - "She'll cut your head off and you won't even know you're bleeding."

If Joe had done well in the debate, it wouldn't have been a discussion.

The Bidens are blaming everyone else for something that fell squarely on Joe's shoulders: his performance in the most important debate of his career. And he shit the bed. And that's the fault of the messaging?

And now the Bidens are saying we should have all just shut up and gotten in that shit-covered bed with him..?

That's nuts.

Nobody would even remember that stupid debate if not for the press yapping about it, and democrats throwing Biden under the bus.

That soured millions of Americans on democracy and resulted in tRump.

An Inconvenient truth.

Gross

And you can see from both Bidens’ recent statements why she needed to push as hard as she did. They were in deep denial and remain there.

We lost everything, congress, senate and presidency.

And the margins of victory were very thin. It’s not scientific but assuming Biden lost by wider margins than Harris, which is a very safe assumption in my book, we don’t win those seats. More people would have stayed home. Many more. There was basically zero enthusiasm for Joe when he dropped out.

If you asked Baldwin, Slotkin, Rosen and and Gallegos if they were happier seeing Harris in the race instead of Biden I’m pretty sure what the answer would be.

NT

I didn't watch news for a week afterwards.

by not winning over the voters.

i don't care about who's feelings are hurt, when trump could destroy out Democracy

If you look at social media- most of the young were horrified by the daily images of dead and mutilated babies. The kids were protesting the war every weekend and they were condemned.

I think just enough young people didn’t vote to push it over to Republicans.

Rather than vote for Nixon or Wallace in 1968, anti-war Democrats abstained. Anti-war Democrats angry with the Gaza War stayed home in 2024 rather than vote for Trumpf or Stein. That explains the difference between the overwhelming 2020 Biden/Harris numbers and the underwhelming 2024 Harris/Walz numbers.

Students at hundreds of college campuses protested the Gaza War throughout 2024, just like in 1968. We should have paid attention to them. These youngsters in 2024 were slandered as "useful idiots of Iran," "Hamas lovers," or incredibly, even "antisemites," the way the students in 1968 were maligned as "pinko lovers." Hmph.

1968



2024

"useful idiots of Iran," "Hamas lovers," or incredibly, even "antisemites,"

It became starkly obvious at the debate. Biden became frail, NOT SENILE.

Biden never should have got to the debate. There should have been an open primary, and we'd be swearing in President Newsom next week instead of that fucking monster.

The pro repug media completely ignored tRump's mental decline and is still ignoring it.

Go figure.

nt

referencing the media saying that Biden had declined mentally and the claim that both Bidens were in denial about it so I was countering that will the fact that the media had completely ignored tRump's mental decline. I totally get that the Bidens are unhappy with how he was treated by the dem leadership. I frankly think that they now know how Al Gore must feel about getting thrown under the bus along with we the voters in 2000.

by which there would have been any MORE primaries,
without throwing every law and party nominating rules under the bus.

The idea of having an "open primary" at that point
was a pipe dream advocated by a ship of fools. (James Carville near the top of that list).

Even if it had been made to happen, the idea that African-American women,
who are the backbone of the party, would have turned out to vote in the GE
for Newsom after Kamala had been thrown under the bus,
(in the same numbers which they turned out for Kamala)
is ANOTHER pipe-dream.



And I'm NOT so hot on Newsom after reading THIS----
https://democraticunderground.com/10143374154

It is done. Everyone has a different opinion on exactly what happened. But being noisy about it now is just destructive to the party. Go make amends with Nancy, or not, as the case may be, but do it quietly.

It was abundantly obvious that President Biden had declined to the extent that the election was going to be a bloodbath. Biden never should have run.

for a political party claiming to be the party defending democracy from dictator tRump. This is on top of the dem leadership hiding in their cushy, ivory Washington towers while they let W steal the 2000 election. It's no wonder that dems stayed home in droves in 2024 or have given up entirely on democracy and supported tRump.

it was too late to do that, and it accomplished nothing good.

Not everyone thought it was abundantly obvious and Pelosi was hammered relentlessly by some.

...that doesn't matter at all.

might hang in the balance (prison). Needed non-family experts and professionals to speak up for what was best for the country, and it's good they did. Thanks Nancy.

Nancy got Biden to step down and then when Harris lost the election, Nancy blamed Biden anyway.
So WTF did Nancy accomplish here?

that aren't Bidens. But it was too late, he shouldn't have run again and the field should have been opened sooner.

If there was a time to push, it should have been done before the primary.

I believed her.

And sounded very certain of herself.

Her election predictions aren't the soundest.

It's about the country.

Nancy's behavior was disappointing, if say what I really think I'm pretty sure my comment won't last more than a minute or two!

It's time all of these 80+ year olds retire.

Did you forget? Biden was obviously too old and should never have sought reelection. We need age limits on the presidency. Trump is too old.