Thursday, August 6, 2015

A few final observations about the debate

The panelists pounded Trump because he is arrogant, and not a real Republican - - remember, this was a GOP debate hosted by Fox, the party's go-to network - - but they didn't follow up the same way with Walker when he dodged around questions, even when it was clear that he was without showed information or depth because a) he is not the front runner, and b) the panel probably grasped that he isn't going to be President, or influential in the process going forward.

(For some additional observations, work back through the last 25 or so posts, as I live blogged the debate).

Walker was so invisible that he is not quoted in this 36-paragraph Washington Post summary until paragraph 34 - - after political neophyte Dr. Ben Carson.

Walker is not quoted at all in this 39-paragraph New York Times debate piece, and is barely mentioned.

If Walker wins the caucuses Iowa - - and that could happen, given his 99-county push and fresh $7 million ad buy in that neighboring state  - - the next round of questions in the more demanding atmosphere in New Hampshire where actual voting will take place will be tougher, and the more favored and familiar candidates, there - - Bush and Christie - - will not let him off the hook.

Regardless, Walker played it safe tonight in Cleveland, and didn't make a fatal error on the level of Rick Perry's "oops," but he was unwilling to take any risks, or present an actual answer with an original thought, so came off as a lightweight.

And not being able to address 'Black lives matter,' not being able to name a new potential ally in middle east, and not supporting any exceptions for legal abortion even when the life of the mother is at risk, or for women are impregnated through rape or incest - - wow! Who wants to vote for that combination of ignorance and callousness?

And Walker came across as inauthentic  - - those fake winks, which are dead giveaway tells that say, 'I'm a phony, and condescending, to boot.'

I'd say the candidates that helped themselves tonight were Bush, because he's been so shaky of late, and Kasich, who seems to be somewhat deeper, a grown-up if you will, when compared to Walker.

Remember - - Walker refused to attend a same-sex wedding in which one of his wife's relatives was marrying. Kaaich said he'd just attended a same-sex wedding, though he was an old-fashioned kind of guy, and would of course love his daughters if they were to tell him that they were gay.

Who wins that contest? Kasich, obviously. He came across as a human being; Walker, an unyielding, ideologue, and an automaton.

And everyone else showed they could coordinate thinking with language better than did Walker - - Huckabee, Rubio, Dr. Carson, Rand Paul, Cruz, the whole lot, and several were not intimidated about the ne need to give-and-take.

If Walker's game plan was to hold back, well nothing risked, nothing gained.

And, by the way, fine by me.

I wonder if the Koch brothers saw tonight that they might have been drawn to the GOP's weakest link?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree that Bush and Kasich improved their positions a bit. They also took the wind out of pretty much all of Walker's "look what I did as Governor" talking points with their more authentic, grown up accounts of what they accomplished as governors. Kasich in particular came across as empathetic and thoughtful, which contrasts nicely with the mean spirited and shallow Walker.

Anonymous said...

Walker has a strong edge in Iowa and will win (up to a point) for all the same reasons Obama won Iowa. So his task was to project a plausible, reasonable and stable image to New Hampshire. Neutral, generic, thrifty, sane. Can he keep that up 'til sunrise at Dix's Notch?

Kasich rose to normal standards; like the one guy in the clowncar with a driver's license, but not allowed to drive: must be frustrating. He wins, but his base is too base to realize it. Bush was a wreck, and badly damaged his standing.

Or so it seemed to me -- but then, I missed a few segments when the online feed went out, so .

Trump may well eviscerate Walker with offhand remarks, and that may be that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiMVOxOeClg

Big Money will probly carry Walker through multiple primaries, and if he really does well in Iowa & NH (2nd or 3rd), momentum and money will override his record.

Because none of his marks care about his record, they all vote tribal. The ones that don't see themselves reflected back in Him (he's one of us, he makes sense, he talks like us) are looking for a willing tool. They'll vote on ideology, union-busting, open corruption: for the money, and second for raw partisan power.

A good chunk of those segments WANT a ruler with a wrecking ball -- smashing functional government, sound policy and an excellent economy -- that'd be the whole point.

RF

Anonymous said...

The koch's want a stooopid president that distracts from them and real issues. Walker is the perfect too. Breitbart was praising Walker's performance long before debate was over, saying he led it and set the direction.

While the observations here may be accurate, you always fail to realize that Walker is empowered by media propaganda. He did what he needed to do to have the media catapult him as an all-powerful frontrunner.

Anonymous said...

Agree with 1:33 am. The debates won't matter once the ads start and the talking heads do their jobs. Print media only reach a small number of people so they aren't as important. Walker came off as a smirking, immature frat boy but he can look personable in one-on-one interviews. God save us.

Anonymous said...

Never forget that some very rich people are backing Walker and that the head of the RNC, Reince Prebus, will back his good friend Walker. All Walker has to do to win the nomination is not screw up. Once he has one the nomination, they will steal the election.

Anonymous said...

Right Wing Blogger Widgerson captured the essence of Walker's perfomance with the comment: (paraphase) Walker did not have to win the debate, he needs to win Iowa, mission accomplished.

What does that say about Walker? He is a mediocre candidate at best, running a "don't lose" primary strategy. Scott Walker has burned his political capital in Wisconsin and has no more future here. He must not fail and cannot afford to take risk. The farther he goes, the longer he lasts, the better for Scott.

His only recourse use other peoples money to sell hollow horse shit sound bites to create a false image of Scott Walker. He will eventually fail the scrutiny of a long campaign that finally pushes him out of the running. Don't expect a full frontal gaffe, it will be a series pitfalls, miscalculations, retractions and denials that relegate the Desperado to the republican backwaters.