A plea for sanity — and seriousness — in judging the debate - Ezra Klein

[Bill USA]

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/9/26/13028724/first-presidential-debate-win
(emphasis my own)

I spent the weekend trying to figure out how to start this piece — how to ground my sense that this presidential debate is beginning in a bad place — and then MSNBC put up this graphic:




This is the Donald Trump curve. Hillary Clinton needs to answer every question perfectly and make people laugh while she does it. Trump needs to stop lying and bragging so much. It defies parody. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

MSNBC is simply echoing the conventional wisdom. Clinton “faces higher expectations than Donald Trump when the two square off for the first debate on Long Island,” reports Politico. This is the conclusion of Politico’s “insiders poll,” which surveys a select group of political elites. The responses — Politico provides anonymity to participants in the survey — are darkly comic.

“To win the debate, all Trump really needs to do is meet expectations, keep his cool, and look presidential,” says one Republican.
(more)

[wncHillsupport]

1. Does anyone know which msnbc idiot put this graphic up?

I would sure like to know. Hope it was not one of the two or three I actually watch. Can't be Rachel or Lawrence. That leaves a whole bunch who could have. Or Joy Reid, of course. She would never think this up.