{"id":1488533,"date":"2024-09-07T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-07T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1488533"},"modified":"2024-09-07T15:40:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-07T19:40:00","slug":"tuesdays-debate-looms-large-for-both-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/tuesdays-debate-looms-large-for-both-candidates\/1488533\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday’s Debate Looms Large For Both Candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday’s Debate Looms Large For Both Candidates<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Ron Faucheux via RealClearPolitics<\/a>,<\/em><\/p>\n

For six weeks, Kamala Harris\u2019 campaign has been running circles around Donald Trump\u2019s efforts. <\/strong>Democrats have raised tons of money, energized their base, and protected Harris from unscripted interviews and political risks. All the while, Trump\u2019s campaigning has been lackluster.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

True, Trump has been through a lot over this past year \u2013 indictments, trials, contested primaries, and an attempted assassination; the strain is showing. But the time has come for him to make the sale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite Trump\u2019s lack of focus and Harris\u2019 early momentum, polls continue to show a close race. This is why Tuesday\u2019s presidential debate is so important. It could make or break either campaign.<\/p>\n

As we\u2019ve learned over the years, debates are more often lost than won. The Biden-Trump showdown in June proved it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Trump, the debate is an opportunity to recharge, a chance to unveil a strong, disciplined message. For Harris, it\u2019s an opportunity to broaden her base and reassure skeptical voters. <\/strong>Pundits tell us, incorrectly, that voters have already made up their minds, but the truth is otherwise. Recent polling finds that a sizable part of the electorate (18%) could still swing either way.<\/p>\n

Right out of the box, each candidate should lay the predicate for the entire night.<\/strong> Starting aggressively is the best way to take the offense, regardless of questions asked or time limits.<\/p>\n

Debate messaging should reflect the campaign\u2019s central theme \u2013 assuming a campaign has one. <\/strong>Trump\u2019s central theme has yet to be honed, so the debate is an opportunity for him to do so. Harris\u2019 messaging has been working well, but it\u2019s hollow, mostly a collection of slogans. This debate is a chance for her to tie her themes together.<\/p>\n

The first words out of Trump\u2019s mouth should frame the election as a choice between his record and the Biden-Harris record.<\/strong> Polls tell us that most voters prefer the Trump record, especially on the economy, immigration, and national security. This could be Trump\u2019s version of Ronald Reagan\u2019s famous debate line, \u201cAre you better off than you were four years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump also needs to make the case that Harris is too far left by citing specific policies she\u2019s supported.<\/strong> He should end a line of rapid-fire attacks with a pithy summation, something like: \u201cBiden went along with the progressive left, but Harris will be their champion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harris\u2019 first words should focus on the future, reinforcing her message that \u201cwe\u2019re not going back\u201d to the Trump era. From the start, she needs to inoculate herself against likely attacks; that will make it easier to respond when they arise. She should be ready to defend her own views \u2013 from Gaza to Ukraine, taxes to fracking, grocery prices to deficit spending. Harris needs to show a depth of knowledge she rarely displays.<\/p>\n

At times, the most important thing Trump should do is shut up.<\/strong> Time limits and microphone mute buttons may help him do that. He needs to avoid distractions, such as relitigating the 2020 election. There is no reason for him to bring up his criminal cases. These are potential traps; Harris will have ready-made retorts for all of them.<\/p>\n

Unpredictability is Trump\u2019s strength. Harris expects him to be rambling and disruptive. But if, instead, he\u2019s rational and concise, and his attacks are coherent and focused \u2013 not his usual word salad of overstatements and distractions \u2013 he could force Harris off her game.<\/p>\n

Harris should employ two techniques that could throw Trump off stride. One is humor. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden effectively used wit against Trump in previous debates, and it was a missed opportunity. The second is for Harris to make her points in the form of questions. As a lawyer and senator, she knows how to do this. Even though debate rules don\u2019t allow cross-questioning, nothing prohibits candidates from posing questions to the audience in the form of statements.<\/p>\n

After the endless ads and unremitting smears that often cancel out one another, debates serve as tiebreakers for undecided voters. This may be the only presidential debate left in this election. A bad night for either candidate could be fatal.<\/p>\n

Tune in on Tuesday and decide for yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer. He edited \u201cThe Debate Book\u201d and publishes LunchtimePolitics.com<\/a>, a nationwide newsletter on polls and public opinion.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSat, 09\/07\/2024 – 11:40<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/tuesdays-debate-looms-large-both-candidates<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tuesday’s Debate Looms Large For Both Candidates Authored by Ron Faucheux via RealClearPolitics, For six weeks, Kamala Harris\u2019 campaign has been running circles around Donald…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1488534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1488533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1488533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1488533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1488534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1488533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1488533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1488533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}