The September 29, 2020 Presidential Debate

Mike Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday, is the moderator of the September 29 presidential debate. the Commission on Presidential Debate gives the moderator the choice of debate topics. Wallace has chosen to focus on:

The records of President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden
The Supreme Court
COVID-19
The economy
“Race and violence in our cities”
“The integrity of the election.”

Because Wallace is a conservative the choice of these topics is a win for Donald Trump.

1. The records of the candidates. Biden will have to defend a 47 year history. He has made many mistakes and many successes. Trump defends only four years. Trump will attack Biden for saying nothing as his son Hunter Biden took a job at a Ukraine gas company that gave him a salary of $80,000 a month. How can Biden defend his silence? The answer is by saying “this debate is not about my family.”

Biden should start by mocking Trump saying “I’m here to tell the American people what I will do as president and I will say more than that in more than two sentences.”

2. The Supreme Court. Trump will correctly say that he alone has the power to nominate judges to SCOTUS. There are no time limits or dates when a nomination is prohibited.

The question to both should be: Should selections to the Supreme Court be delayed in the year of a presidential election so that the winner selects the nominee?

Biden’s only counter argument is using the words of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell who said four years ago,

“Given that we are in the midst of the presidential election process, we believe that the American people should seize the opportunity to weigh in on whom they trust to nominate the next person for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. It is today the American people, rather than a lame-duck president whose priorities and policies they just rejected in the most-recent national election, who should be afforded the opportunity to replace Justice Scalia.”

3. COVID-19. This is the one topic where Joe Biden can shine. Most poll results say that the federal government has failed to protect the American population. The Bob Woodward interviews with Trump confirm that Trump intentionally mislead the American people.

Biden’s questions to Trump should be:

1. When you told Woodward that covid-19 is worse than the flu and then told the public the opposite, isn’t that lying?

2. If you knew it was so dangerous and transmitted by air, why did you keep holding rallies, mock people for wearing masks and nag governors to reopen businesses?

4. The economy. Who is to blame for the current economy is the question? Of course the current situation is a consequence of COVID-19. Trump will argue that once the virus is conquered the economy will quickly recover. Biden will likely argue that the economy before the virus only helped the wealthy.

5. Race and violence in our cities. Trump will be talking about “law and order must be maintained.” Biden will likely say that there is racial discrimination and everyone has the right to protest. Biden will point out that violence is rare and cannot be condoned.

6. The integrity of the election. Trump will repeat what he has already said many times that mail-in ballots are subject to fraud. Biden will say there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim. Trump will likely say that he will take his case to the Supreme Court. The question that Trump cannot answer is will a conservative SCOTUS award the presidency to Donald Trump?

Is there a Reason to Vote for Joe Biden?

“Mr. Trump, you want to talk about fear?” Biden asked last Monday.

“Do you know what people are afraid of in America? They’re afraid they’re going to get Covid. They’re afraid they’re going to get sick and die, and that is in no small part, it’s because of you.”

Joe Biden’s only chance of winning the election on November 3 is to convince voters that Trump’s mismanagement of the virus spread and the collapse of the economy is reason enough to deny him another four year term.

The collapse of the economy is a consequence of the spread of the disease. If there had been no virus Trump would be repeating over and over the claim that the low unemployment and the high stock market is the result of his management of the economy.

Joe Biden would be left with only two campaign issues. Donald Trump is a racist and social justice for all Americans.

On this Labor Day Biden accurately bemoans the loss of jobs in Pennsylvania and other rust belt states but that is not an issue caused by the Trump presidency. Factory job losses are an issue that is decades old. Businesses have been moving jobs overseas to save money. There is no way Joe Biden or Donald Trump can bring those jobs back to America.

I recently bought a new computer, printer, and a webcam. The computer was assembled in Mexico from parts made elsewhere. The printer was made in Thailand. The webcam was made in China. My new undershorts were made in Honduras.

Do you actually believe any of those items will ever be made in the United States in a future time?

Trump’s loss of the election will likely be the result of his own ineptitude and a set of beliefs and ideas that are not in tune with most Americans. His lack of respect for the military and his support of right wing conspiracy groups are his biggest Achilles heels. His push for a vaccine before election day will only bring cheers for his loyal supporters.

Biden’s loss of the election will likely be the result of his lack of specific ideas on how to help the economy recover and White fear of a minority invasion.

On the subject of social justice Joe Biden was one of 95 senators who voted for the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. From FactCheck.org “Biden, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, largely wrote and shepherded through the legislative process. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 received bipartisan support at the time but has been criticized for some of its provisions, such as mandatory minimum sentencing, and its impact on mass incarceration.”

That law “grants to increase police presence, to expand and improve cooperative efforts between law enforcement agencies and members of the community to address crime and disorder problems, and otherwise to enhance public safety.” That law put people in jail for drug use rather than rehabilitation.

It was none other than Kamala Harris, in the first primary debate, who pointed out that Biden opposed school bussing as a way of encouraging integration.

Social justice, better paying jobs, a racially integrated society. Great ideas but I would not count on Joe Biden to make those goals a reality.

Biden’s campaign says he is doing just what a candidate should — pushing broad ideas while leaving room to negotiate the details.

This is troubling for me. What does Joe Biden stand for?

I am voting against Trump because he stands for hate, division, and destruction of the republic.