US Presidential election

Quote by RowanThorn

"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see...""You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?""No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.""Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy.""I did," said Ford. "It is.""So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't people get rid of the lizards?""It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.""You mean they actually vote for the lizards?""Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course.""But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?""Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?""What?""I said," said Ford, with an increasing air of urgency creeping into his voice, "have you got any gin?""I'll look. Tell me about the lizards."Ford shrugged again."Some people say that the lizards are the best thing that ever happenned to them," he said. "They're completely wrong of course, completely and utterly wrong, but someone's got to say it.""But that's terrible," said Arthur."Listen, bud," said Ford, "if I had one Altairian dollar for every time I heard one bit of the Universe look at another bit of the Universe and say 'That's terrible' I wouldn't be sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin."

-Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Exactly

Enjoy tonight’s debate!

Well that was a pathetic display by Biden and a bunch of lies and bullshit from Trump.

Lol what a joke.

Americans right now

My favorite part was when they broke down into a heated old man argument over who’s a better golfer.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Jesus. Can't say I didn't warn the Dems about propping up Sleepy Joe, but that was the most godawful debate performance I have ever seen from a Presidential candidate.

And the other guy gave the most lie-filled performance I have ever seen.

Paraphrasing the OP's question: how the fuck did we end up with these two dildoes as our candidates? This display of total rhetorical incompetence just accelerated our planetary descent into nationalistic, authoritarian lawlessness.

Every goddamned time I think I could not get more pessimistic about humanity's prospects, shit like this happens. Christ weeps.

Biden needs to be replaced quickly. Some of the debate was just really uncomfortable viewing. I don't know how practical it is for the Democrats to replace him? D

Biden had his Grape Nuts and Four Loko this morning.

The only thing more uncomfortable than Biden's debate performance is watching the rank-and-file Democrats scrambling to defend him. This was really a worst case scenario for the Democrats.

Some are actively and publicly discussing finding a new candidate, which would be unprecedented at this point. The process would involve Biden willingly vacating the nomination and the Democrat higher-ups hand-selecting a new candidate which is going to be terrible optics. Might be a better shot than riding this train into a wall though. Hard to say at this point. Would likely be Harris, though her image may have been tainted by Biden's.

Going for a populous candidate last minute seems like the only legitimate path to victory but I don't know who could salvage it among the Democratic party.

Quote by RowanThorn

The only thing more uncomfortable than Biden's debate performance is watching the rank-and-file Democrats scrambling to defend him. This was really a worst case scenario for the Democrats.

Some are actively and publicly discussing finding a new candidate, which would be unprecedented at this point. The process would involve Biden willingly vacating the nomination and the Democrat higher-ups hand-selecting a new candidate which is going to be terrible optics. Might be a better shot than riding this train into a wall though. Hard to say at this point. Would likely be Harris, though her image may have been tainted by Biden's.

Going for a populous candidate last minute seems like the only legitimate path to victory but I don't know who could salvage it among the Democratic party.

Rowan thinks democrats should be like yeah, fuck it, were switching parties and supporting Trump because the debate.

Also doesn't say which democrats are publicly discussing finding a new candidate.

Quote by Magical_felix

Rowan thinks democrats should be like yeah, fuck it, were switching parties and supporting Trump because the debate.

Also doesn't say which democrats are publicly discussing finding a new candidate.

Don’t worry. I expect other people can read the headlines even if you can’t. And ‘populous’ isn’t a different party unless you consider giving people what they want to be so so outside of the Democrats position it would constitute a different party.

Quote by RowanThorn

Don’t worry. I expect other people can read the headlines even if you can’t. And ‘populous’ isn’t a different party unless you consider giving people what they want to be so so outside of the Democrats position it would constitute a different party.

Rowan doesn’t know which democrats are saying that. Just “some people are saying”.

Rowan thinks this debate will be the thing people remember months from now lol. He’s already forgotten everything Trump did but he expects people to remember Biden fucking up a debate where nothing new was learned. Biden Isn’t a great speaker and Trump is a pathological liar. Wow such new revelations.

It’s not going to change a thing. The debates never change people’s minds. It’s entertainment.

I’m surprised you don’t get along better with Trump people. You like living in a fantasy removed from reality as well.

Quote by RowanThorn

I’m surprised you don’t get along better with Trump people. You like living in a fantasy removed from reality as well.

So you don't know... Well thank you for your contribution Rowan.

People already made up their minds. No matter what Biden does normal people know Trump shouldn't be president. Only a bit over half of the people that watched the last debate tuned in this time. More people watched Inside Out 2.

They're all busy getting drive-thru coffee, filling up their SUVs, eating steaks, going to the gym, buying LEGO, working and watching TV shows in this "third world" country of ours.

In a 'normal year' I would vociferously oppose Rick Wilson... But the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Quote by DanielleX

Biden needs to be replaced quickly. Some of the debate was just really uncomfortable viewing. I don't know how practical it is for the Democrats to replace him? D

Dude had a bad night. It's reported he had a head cold. The last 3.5 years have been 180 degrees better in the opposite direction than the 4 years of Trump which preceded Biden.

He's been delivering in the Presidency aspect for the last 3.5 years. Trump tried to overthrow the government and a valid election the last time he was in power.

Vote for whomever you wish.

Vote for Trump and you'll get the exactly what you want.

Vote for Biden and you'll get exactly what you don't want but will settle for because the other dude is a fucktard magnet of the 3rd order who will sell America out to the highest bidder and that president doesn't give one fuck about you or your family.

Quote by Magical_felix

People already made up their minds. No matter what Biden does normal people know Trump shouldn't be president. Only a bit over half of the people that watched the last debate tuned in this time. More people watched Inside Out 2.

They're all busy getting drive-thru coffee, filling up their SUVs, eating steaks, going to the gym, buying LEGO, working and watching TV shows in this "third world" country of ours.

That's a good point, Felix. However a President isn't just for Christmas. Let's say that the idea of Trump is so repugnant that they vote for Biden as the least worst option and he's returned to office. There's no way he's gonna make another four years, is there?!! And that's a problem isn't it?

D x

Look, you've all had 250 years to figure this thing out, and if these two guys are the best potential leaders your country can come up with, clearly your internal talent resources are pretty much bankrupted. But perhaps another fine American tradition can be the solution: Outsourcing. If you can't find qualified Americans to do the job, maybe let Canada do it for you. The exchange rate is in your favor.

Quote by DanielleX

That's a good point, Felix. However a President isn't just for Christmas. Let's say that the idea of Trump is so repugnant that they vote for Biden as the least worst option and he's returned to office. There's no way he's gonna make another four years, is there?!! And that's a problem isn't it?

D x

#1. that's why we have a VP. #2. so vote for Trump simply because we think he might last 4 years?

Quote by DanielleX

That's a good point, Felix. However a President isn't just for Christmas. Let's say that the idea of Trump is so repugnant that they vote for Biden as the least worst option and he's returned to office. There's no way he's gonna make another four years, is there?!! And that's a problem isn't it?

D x

I like how the main takeaway from the debate is that Biden is an old bag of bones and not that Donald Trump admitted that he had a private conversation with Putin about his invasion of Ukraine before it happened and how it was Putin's dream.

Quote by Magical_felix

I like how the main takeaway from the debate is that Biden is an old bag of bones and not that Donald Trump admitted that he had a private conversation with Putin about his invasion of Ukraine before it happened and how it was Putin's dream.

C'mon my feline friend, you're better than this. Donald Trump is ding dong Cuckoo crazy. The takeaway is that his contender is apparently a nice guy like everyone's grandpa who gets into a proper muddle mixing stuff up, forgetting basic vocabulary and not able to consistently form basic sentences. That's not being unkind, it's just how a lot of old people go. So the takeaway is, the Democrats need a new freaking candidate who is gonna take Trump to the cleaners. D x

i was fired from my job after a ten-hour shift all because of the trump policies still in effect.

for me, it's easy. Biden wins and I have a better chance of keeping my rights as an LGBTQ person. Trump wins. and I'll probably become a second-class citizen with fewer rights than a lot of you enjoy. but yeah, let's pretend that the GOP is all about freedom. unless you're a woman. or gay. or a minority. then you can forget about it.

Quote by DanielleX

C'mon my feline friend, you're better than this. Donald Trump is ding dong Cuckoo crazy. The takeaway is that his contender is apparently a nice guy like everyone's grandpa who gets into a proper muddle mixing stuff up, forgetting basic vocabulary and not able to consistently form basic sentences. That's not being unkind, it's just how a lot of old people go. So the takeaway is, the Democrats need a new freaking candidate who is gonna take Trump to the cleaners. D x

It’s a dumb thing to ponder or discuss because that’s not happening. It’s like saying “well we should give every homeless person a house and triple social security!” Ok like that would be great but it’s not happening. Plus I don’t think it’s even a good thing, it’s like saying “well nobody noticed Biden was old up until just now! Holy shit let’s just replace him because the only reason things function is because of Biden up until a couple days ago!” Doesn’t make sense. It’s an administration you’re voting for. Trump was bragging about firing most of his administration…. That doesn’t sound to me like he knows how to put together a competent one. It means he only is interested in putting together an administration that kisses his ass. The democrats aren’t like that. Compare the last 3 Democrat presidents to the last 3 Republican ones and weigh out the positive and negative impacts of all 6. That’s what Americans are voting for.

Quote by HornyBill

To hell with the election. If we HAVE to choose between these two morons, send them out to the golf course and let them play 18 holes. The winner gets to be president. Either way, the United States loses.

And given the political/economic/military power of the US, so does the rest of the (western) world.

You asked how other countries look at the US. Well, I'm just an individual of course, but I'd say both your legal and political systems are backwards, broken and completely bankrupt, and your economic system seems largely without morals or empathy.

Having elected judges and sheriffs turns them into campaigning politicians, which is precisely not what you want if you want an independent legal system.

Your political system pushes for a two-party system and as a consequence for polarization. Your checks and balances seem to be insufficient, just look at the current SCOTUS, the inability to counter the high rate of gun crimes, big money's influence on politics, gerrymandering, etc.

The extreme inequality, the ways in which corporations are able to exploit employees and the high number of people who are unable to make a living wage, even though they work full-time, is just sick.

That you, as a nation of over 330M people, seem unable to come up with better candidates than the current two old farts, one of which poses a serious risk, not just for the US, but for the entire western world, is both laughable and scary as shit at the same time.

Does that mean other countries, including mine, are perfect? No, far from it (we'll have a far-right government installed here the day after tomorrow, ugh), but you asked for foreign views on the US. And few other countries propagandize the idea that they are the beacon of light in all sorts of matter, in the way the US does. That pompous mindset is very much the laughable part these days. The consequence is often the sad, if not scary part.

Following a debate performance from President Joe Biden that failed to solidify his ability to defeat ex-President Donald Trump in November, several newspapers and Democratic leaders have called on the president to end his re-election bid — but one conservative is shutting those calls down.

Anti-Trump Lincoln Project adviser and former Republican consultant Stuart Stevens, in a Sunday op-ed published by the New York Times, argues, "For all the talk of Mr. Biden’s off night, what is lost is that Mr. Trump missed a great opportunity to reset his candidacy and greatly strengthen his position."

Stevens is baffled by many Democratic leaders' failure "to rally around a wildly successful president after one bad night."

Is this how Americans see themselves? When we watch the American flag carried at the Olympics in Paris, are we to feel ashamed, not proud?

When Ronald Reagan was president, he believed that to be born in America was to win life’s lottery. Now, in Trump’s America, are we victims, chumps, losers?

I don’t think so. Mr. Trump has difficulty expanding his base because most Americans are still proud to be Americans. Most Americans do not wake up mad at the world, fearful to go outside their homes. What is it that you are supposed to hate the most — the record-high stock market or low unemployment?

The veteran GOP consultant also argues:

The Republican Party is at war with the modern world, and it is losing.

What happened when Republicans attacked Nike for its endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick? Nike made a fortune.

How is it possible to get in a fight with Disney, the happiness company?

This is a party that thought it was a good idea to go after Taylor Swift when it was already suffering from problems with female voters over the death of Roe. Seriously?

While Biden may have stumbled, Stuart points out that his opponent "unleashed a virulent anti-American rant," proving, "The America he lives in is a postapocalyptic hellscape of violence, with people 'dying all over the place' — more 'Mad Max' than 'morning in America.'"

Stuart emphasizes, "My one plea to my new friends abandoning Mr. Biden is simple: Suck it up and fight. It’s not supposed to be easy."