The national embarrassment of the President acting like a spoiled child in the debate is behind us, but I'm worried about what effect this spectacle has had on our youth.
It was the first debate my grandchildren have seen. This is the first Presidential election my youngest daughter can vote in. Early in the debate, she texted that it was a "train wreck" -- a term I later heard from many people, including reporters covering the event.
But no matter what any of us think, our children and grandchildren have seen what they've seen and it will affect them for years to come.
Like anyone else watching the debacle, I was shocked by Trump's embrace of the "Proud Boys," who represent the absolute worst in our society.
It is impossible for me to imagine any decent Republican voter tolerating this embrace of a white supremacist organization. What is needed, for the good of the country, is for those voters to "stand down" -- sit this election out.
You don't have to agree with Joe Biden on the issues, or even like the way he speaks. Hell, he isn't my kind of speaker; I prefer an Obama -- someone who can articulate a vision we can share, regardless of party affiliation. But Biden is a good man who will stabilize the country at a time we really need stabilization.
Normally, I would urge everyone to vote, but I cannot in good conscience encourage anyone to vote for Trump. Perhaps a better option would be to go down-ballot and support all of the other GOP candidates, and leave the top line blank.
That would send the message that needs to be sent. We Americans stand united against hate, against racism, against police violence, against protestor violence, against inequality, against oppression and against authoritarianism.
We support tolerance, diversity, decency, equality, love, kindness, compassion, and the freedom to speak out on behalf of our beliefs. We support our right to differ, but not to attack each other with the kind of vicious rhetoric Trump employs.
BTW, the debate moderator, Chris Wallace of FoxNews, has come under severe criticism for not being able to control Trump's unhinged behavior, but could anyone have done a better job? He was overwhelmed, as were we all.
Take a look at the first news item below. When the country's foremost conservative thinker says we should cancel the rest of the debates because of Trump's behavior, we have a problem.
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* For the sake of the country, cancel the remaining debates-- Opinion by George F. Will (WashPo)
* Of Course, the Debate Was Always Going to Be About Trump -- A face-off with Joe Biden devolves into an ugly shouting match as President Trump, characteristically, makes it all about him. (NYT)
* Tuesday’s Debate Made Clear the Gravest Threat to the Election: The President Himself -- President Trump’s unwillingness to say he would abide by the result and his disinformation campaign about election fraud went beyond anything President Vladimir V. Putin could have imagined. (NYT)
* Head-scratching perplexity about U.S. democracy in Australia and Denmark. Disdain for “chaos” and “insults” between America’s presidential contenders in a Chinese Communist Party tabloid. A European market watcher’s warning of a “credibility deficit” in U.S. politics amid fears that a long tradition of peaceful, amicable transfer of power could be in jeopardy. (AP)
* The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Wednesday that it would add “additional structure” to the remaining faceoffs between President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden after Tuesday night’s chaotic clash in Cleveland, saying “more orderly discussion is needed.” (WashPo)
* Early surge of Democratic mail voting sparks worry inside GOP (WashPo)
* 'We are ready': Proud Boys threaten to act and pledge allegiance to Trump after he told the far right group to 'stand back and stand by' during presidential debate (Mail Online)
*Trump Sent a Warning. Let’s Take It Seriously. -- Our democracy is in terrible danger — more than since the Civil War, more than after Pearl Harbor, more than during the Cuban missile crisis. (NYT)
* CALIFORNIA FIRES BREAK 'ALMOST EVERY RECORD' Fires continue to grow in Northern California, continuing the state’s historic, devastating fire season after record-breaking blazes swept the state in August. California’s fires this year have “broken almost every record there is to break,” the state’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire, tweeted on Tuesday. Fires have burned more than 3.8 million acres so far this year, more than five times the average of 740,000 acres burned by this time in the past five years. Five of the six largest fires in California history have occurred this year. [HuffPost]
* ICE preparing targeted arrests in ‘sanctuary cities,’ amplifying president’s campaign theme (WashPo)
* How Trump Voters Feel About His Refusal to Commit to Transferring Power -- Many Trump supporters do not believe that he can or will lose, and say he would be justified in questioning whether Democrats manipulated the outcome. (NYT)
* Greenland ice sheet on course to lose ice at fastest rate in 12,000 years, study find (WashPo)
* BIDEN PITCHED A CLIMATE PLAN. TRUMP RAMBLED. Across the West Coast, fires have scorched a record 2.5 million acres and incinerated entire towns ― and there are still several months left in the fire season. During Tuesday night's presidential debate, the president shrugged off a question about what should be done about it. Pressed on whether he understands the role that human-caused emissions are playing, Trump extolled the need for “immaculate air and immaculate water.” Biden pitched his plan to add “millions of good-paying jobs” created by new efforts to eliminate the energy sector’s emissions by 2035 and build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles. [HuffPost]
* Trump’s quest to win a second term is not in good shape. He entered Tuesday night’s debate with roughly a 7- or 8-point deficit in national polls, putting him further behind at this stage of the race than any other candidate since Bob Dole in 1996. (538)
* The Carnival Parade Is Canceled, and Rio Is Reeling -- Wars, disease and political turmoil have never prevented Rio de Janeiro from putting on its famous carnival. Now, the pandemic has forced a suspension of the annual parade, at great cost to the city and its residents. (NYT)
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I continue to reach out to old friends, connecting with two or three every week. It's extremely difficult to continue making new friends given the pandemic, but I'll do that too when I can.
One feature of 2020 is my Facebook Friend network has vastly expanded and I am extremely grateful to all of you for that.
And need a friend
And troubles seem like
They never end
Just remember to keep the faith
And love will be there to light the way
I will be here
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