RockyRoadTravel

She is a better orator than I was expecting. She's let it drop a couple times, in referring to Walz, as Coach Walz. She's not "labelling" him that, but if the monicker gets a take up and sticks - it's not a bad one. After 10 years of being berated with anger by Trump, the America Dream could use a coach.

I hope Harris learns something from Obama's presidency. In his first two years he had a substantial majority in the Senate (was it 54 or 56 seats?) and a large majority in the House. If Obama had governed in his first two years as he did in his last two years (having then experienced six years of complete Republican obstructionism) there would have been a renewed Voting Rights Act, Washington DC would be a State, a renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban, perhaps Campaign Finance Reform (taking the worst of the obscene amounts of dark money in elections), and Mitch McConnell might not have been able to pack the Courts (Donald took credit, but Trump did none of the strategy and work, of undermining the integrity of the courts and rule of law). So, hopefully, if there is a Harris presidency, she'll recognize the obstruction she is up against in Congress, and move ahead with whatever is possible to improve the functioning of American democracy and freedoms, and pass the necessary laws to counter act the partisan policy rulings that the extremists on the Supreme Court have been legislating from the bench.

On the debate I expect that Trump will organize his rally - err debate - on September 4th and claim from the stage that Harris was afraid to "debate" him. I think she should have a rally on the same night, to up stage him with her crowd, and keep the focus on the real agreed upon debate date and format on September 10th. Also, rather than a debate, I want them both to appear on Celebrity Jeopardy. US State Capitals for $100. Bible Verses for $200.

Are you saying she's perceived as a radical or as a liberal? A liberal is in the center of the political spectrum between left and right.

Trump is Putin's favorite for president. Putin must be reading the writing on the wall as to who he's going to be dealing with next year though.

Maybe I'm the wrong demographic for the message. Yes, of course, Donald Trump and JD Vance, are weird. Aren't we all a bit weird? My concern about them isn't the weirdness - the spray tan, the hair spray, the who shakes hands the longest, cheating at golf - it's that they are dangerous. A federal abortion ban, outlawing birth control and ending no fault divorce. Those are 2025 policies (which JD Vance has written the forward for the upcoming book) which are far more than weird - they are dangerous, anti-freedom, anti-American.

I think there's something odd going on at 538 with poll reporting, or at least a divergence between news reports and how polls are being reported.

Election stealers refusing to certify election results (as has happened this year in Nevada already) will happen in November, in an attempt to sow chaos and to discredit the election process. The defeated former president loves chaos.

I think the tide of this election may have turned. Lately I've mostly heard FOX News announcers referring to Trump as the "former President", embracing the reality of his free and fair loss in the last election. Is sanity going to be returning to American politics?

I didn't understand your post. What were you saying?

Maybe it's his bone spurs.

The weird MAGA times

That's a misleading headline. It's Ronny Jackson, who wasn't one of the doctors who treated Trump, after he was a victim of gun violence. The actual doctors who treated the wound aren't allowed to speak about what happened.

I think Trump should be made to carry JD to full term

People who are against choice on abortion are not "pro-life". I am pro-life. I support a woman's right to choose, and paid parental leave, and affordable child care options. I support preventing unwanted pregnancies with birth control universally covered through health insurance, public health education in the schools system. The anti-choice zealots are fixated on a fetus and government control of women's bodies, they are not interested in actually solving a problem and supporting the lives of children and women.

Maybe JD Vance suffers from the same character weakness as the defeated former President, he might not be able to say "I was wrong, I am sorry."

The surprising thing about the poll numbers currently is that after the Republican National Convention bump, after being a victim of gun violence, Trump is still topping out in the low/mid-40s in approval. No other presidential candidate has failed to crack 50% like the defeated former president. Reagan was at 70%+ after his shooting. I approve of your GIF.

@EmmetK is useful, not for evidence based analysis/commentary, but as a Cole's Notes of the talking points of the MAGA swamp. You just have to learn to skip over the constant name calling that seems to be important to him.

Question: Has there been an uptick in the number of right leaning polls being released this year? I know that Rasmussen has always had a right wing tilt. I've looked at what those polls more in how they compare the other polls. Not so much as being accurate (not that polls are more than accurate for a snap shot of time) but in showing which way the wind is blowing. Harris seems to be way out in a further right lane than in the past, just big differences with other more non-partisan polls. Discuss ...

I don't know what thread to put this, it seemed sort of 2025 doom walking though. The recent Supreme (Christian Sharia) Court ruling on presidential immunity gave a virtual blank check to official acts, and a cloak of invisibility to the investigation of intentions behind presidential actions. With the ruling, if a President sold a Supreme Court appointment, an official act, to Elon Musk for X amount of dollars, the president would have immunity for that. Correct? Discuss.

Andrew Jackson is by far the worst VP pick in history. Lincoln's VP, who after Lincoln's assassination, tried to politically undo the anti-slavery victory (it wasn't about States' Rights folks) in the Civil War. History will tell of course. I think Sarah Palin is also likely to remain as one of the stand out disaster of VP picks.

The immigration level that is needed should be determined as part of comprehensive immigration reform. The neo-conservative economic revolution of the 1980s has made housing unaffordable to wide swaths of the American public, this, indirectly or directly, impacts decisions on having children. The economy requires a certain level of immigration, for both skilled and unskilled jobs. Building a wall, or talking about building a wall because you're too incompetent to actually build a wall, is a stupid and misguided policy in terms of solving America's long-term economic needs regarding immigration.

Probably Trump's most visible incompetence when it came to "infrastructure" he couldn't even build (more than what 42 miles?) that stupid/useless wall.

A couple of notes to JD Vance. 1. Jesus had no children, I couldn't find any references as to whether Jesus had any cats 2. Donald Trump should carry JD Vance to full term to November, not sure the MAGA extremists would empathize with an aborted VP.

I go back and forth on Mark Kelly. He's kind of a quiet guy, not sure if he's the campaigner that's needed at this moment. He looks good on paper on immigration and his appeal to the Southwest, but, does he look good on the campaign stage? Do you remember who Hillary Clinton's vice-presidential candidate was? (Of course you do, you're a junkie.) However, Tim Kaine was a boring candidate, probably boring was a choice that was made, I don't think that's the choice to make this time. Chris Cillizza has a short video out today about Biden's historical assessment that touches on the messaging aspect of the Presidency, it mirrored my thoughts on this governing AND campaign essential mix.