2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWho Will Win the Debates?
Who Will Win the Debates?https://politicalwire.com/2016/09/15/who-will-win-the-debates/
"SNIP............
James Fallows has a must-read piece on the upcoming presidential debates:
If the sound-off image is of a calm, confident Clinton and a fuming Trump, she will have won the debates and moved that much closer to winning the election. But if Trump can seem easily rather than angrily in command, or if he can lure Clinton into joining him in an insult-for-insult exchange, or if she is beset by some new controversy for which she gives a hyper-legalistic rationalization, then the debates could be a turning point for Trump. If he seems better than expected, either by throwing Clinton off her game or appearing calmer than a wound-up opponent who gives a dense six-point answer to every question, he might achieve something similar to Reagans There you go again!
A potential strategy for Clinton:
Most people I spoke with recommended a picador-like mocking approach, designed not to confront Trump directly but to cumulatively provoke him into an outburst. When Comedy Central hosted a roast of Trump five years ago, he didnt seem to object to jokes about his hair, about his weight, even about his lecherous remarks regarding his daughter Ivanka. The one subject he nixed, according to Aaron Lee, a writer for the roast, was any joke that suggests Trump is not actually as wealthy as he claims to be. So this is a scab Hillary Clinton should deftly pick.
.............SNIP"
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)"or if he can lure Clinton into joining him in an insult-for-insult exchange" She is far more intelligent than that and will incite Trump into a rage. He may even walk off the stage.
I'm getting disgusted with these arm chair quarterbacks telling Hillary and her campaign staff what to do and how to do it. They are far more skilled than any of those people and know exactly what they are doing and when they do it.
PJMcK
(21,921 posts)Otherwise, you'll get yourself too worked up, tonyt53. There's still a long way to Election Day and we need to pace our disgust and outrage. (wink) Nonetheless, you are spot-on that Mr. Fallows piece is quite shallow.
I'm very confident that Hillary Clinton's team is developing a variety of strategies and responses for the debates. As you wrote, her team is brilliant and she'll be well prepared. My fervent hope is that, during a debate, she's able to provoke Donald Trump to flip out. I'd love to see him walk off the stage.
It still isn't a certainty that he'll show up for the first debate. He's already set the groundwork for bailing, i.e., the debates are rigged against him, etc. But if he shows up and she kicks his fat ass, (no disrespect meant for those of us with large derrieres!), I wonder if he'll cancel the subsequent debates. After all, he could claim that the questions were unfair.
But if you want to get really riled up, try reading some of the right-wing websites! They're in an alternate space-time where even the laws of physics, chemistry and biology don't apply.
GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)WI_DEM
(33,497 posts)but that doesn't mean he will win--if he isn't who he is--he often comes across as boring. If Hillary can be presidential and I agree, she shouldn't match Trump insult for insult, she will win.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)the role of a charismatic, confident executive.
He will basically play The Apprentice Donald Trump and try to demonstrate (1) confidence; (2) charm; (3) humor.
He has no substance, question is whether voters care.
Azathoth
(4,603 posts)or if she is beset by some new controversy for which she gives a hyper-legalistic rationalization
With Hillary, this is pretty much a certainty.