Tonight’s Presidential debate

October 22, 2020 • 5:30 pm

The debate between Biden and Trump, with the innovation of silenced mikes (not mics) will start at 9 Eastern US time (8 Chicago time) and last for an hour and a half.  You can watch it nearly anywhere; as the NYT notes:

  • The debate will be televised on channels including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, C-SPAN, PBS, Fox News and MSNBC.

  • Many news outlets, including ABCCBSNBCPBSFox News and C-SPAN, will stream the debate on YouTube.

The links right above take you to the livestreams.

I’m providing this post for you to comment live, and, if you’re one of the people on this site who seem to like Trump over Biden, you’re welcome, too, though I will try to watch at least half the debate and may make ascerbic comments.

May the best man Democrat win!

62 thoughts on “Tonight’s Presidential debate

  1. Biden should have refused to participate in this debate as tRump did with the second debate. Biden has more to lose than to gain.

    But given that it’s happening—Go Joe!!

    1. Before the first debate, I read quite a few predictions that claimed Trump would slaughter a senile Biden in a debate. This has not happened. Trump was too lazy to prepare anyway while Biden seems to have done his homework.

      Fans of either candidate will claim victory following each debate. Perhaps Biden has a few good lines to cheer up his supporters. I don’t fear that he will lose.

      1. We underestimated tRump’s stupidity last time. Instead of giving Biden a chance to babble, he kept interrupting and looked like a jerk. I don’t know we can count on that again.

        Go Joe!!

    1. I was going to comment about that too.
      I am not a writer or in the tech industry but I have been am amateur electronics, audio equipment, radio enthusiast for many, many years and read a gazillion related magazines and books.
      Mic and mics is pretty much the only way I have ever seen it referred to, both on the equipment and in writing.

      Also I am a Mike and I can’t be silenced.

  2. I’ve arranged to be needed at an online neighborhood meeting. It is not something I would normally look forward to but this evening I simply must miss the debate.

  3. “mikes (not mics) “

    is as :

    fridge not frig – from the proper spelling of refrigerator – refridgerator is incorrect. But we say out loud “fridge”.

    … both mic and fridge seem sensible exceptions for the same reason.

    1. … whoops… opposite reasons…

      mike – fridge – both improper.

      Ok so mike is ok, frig is… I cant pay attention all of a sudden…

    2. Lemee try one more time :

      Out loud:

      “fridge”
      “mike”

      both from altered spellings. Saying “mic” or “frig” out loud would be weird, though from proper spellings.

      I’ll go back under my rock now.

    3. In a language that has “eight” and “ate”, “through” and “threw” (and now “thru” thanks to the Americans, I find it difficult to get upset about the fact that “mic” is pronounced “mike”. We don’t spell it “mikerophone” and we don’t pronounce it “mickrophone”, so where’s the problem?

      1. “ I find it difficult to get upset about the fact that “mic” is pronounced “mike”. […], so where’s the problem?”

        The more I think about this, the more confused I get…. mic should be said out loud “mick”. But I’m fine with “mike”, because of the context.

        By the way, I knew a guy who called microliters “mikes” out loud. Kind of hip, perhaps, and the meaning was clear.

  4. I’m going to light a fire in the wood stove, open a bottle of wine, build a plate of cheese and veggies, and watch this crazy thing if it kills me. (Here’s hoping neither of the contestants, nor any WIET viewers has a heart attack or stroke).

      1. Why I record. There is no need for me to have to listen to Trump live and firsthand. I’ll catch the clips later.

  5. Trump will try to make it a sh*tshow again.
    It’s going to be nothing but Hunter Biden shoved in to the conversation all night ling.
    And gawd knows how Trump will get his “guest” Tony Bobulinski in to the proceedings as well.

    One thing I’m worried about is actually the muted microphones. Trump may nonetheless yell some interruptions at Biden while Biden has his turn, just enough to throw of Biden and make him have to hesitate and re-gather his point. But if you don’t hear Trump, or hear him much more softly, you’ll mostly be seeing the effect of a halting Biden which will come off worse than if you’d actually heard Trump’s comments loudly raging over him.

    In the spirit of Halloween….

    As a Canadian, the approaching election is like watching an old horror movie: A worn, terrorized group of villagers nervously making their way towards Dracula’s castle, crossing their hearts hoping he’ll still be asleep in his coffin.

    Upon vanquishing the vampire by exposing him to the pulverizing rays of the sun, there is the worry that the horror-movie-rules vampires have always played by are ignored: Dracula just pops up again with a mocking laugh and begins sucking everyone’s blood again for 4 more years.

    Happy Halloween!

  6. “The Bobulinski Revelation” — apparently this is Trump’s big October Surprise, though it sounds like a lousy title for a Robert Ludlum novel.

  7. It’s a lot more civil than the first debate, and Trump clearly has tried to follow the advice of his handlers, but you can see the crazy trying to get out. At any rate, we’re not going to learn anything about the candidates from this debate.

        1. Sorry, I misread that comment. I thought you meant Trump’s pursuing a strategy of letting Biden speak to show him up as a stuttering mess. Which I think is likely- but it’s backfiring terribly. Biden is much more on than I’ve seen him in ages, and certainly much more so than in the first debate. He’s landing punches, too. This debate won’t change much, of course, but I think Biden comes off better. I’m actually starting to like him more than I’ve ever done- I was always anti-Trump and pro-anyone-else-bar-Stalin but never warmed to Biden very much until now, and a little in the first debate.

    1. I think we can learn a lot. First DT is capable of offering a fairly reasoned argument, even if mostly fabricated. But, for those who have questions about Biden’s stand on socialized medicine, or destroying medicare, etc., it should have been enlightening. Etc.
      I think it was a pretty good debate. Much more substantive. From a logical point of view, Biden clearly “won”, except for the fact that many DT supporters are not substantive people and will not abandon him in any large numbers.

      1. Anybody who was planning to vote for Trump before the debate is not going to be persuaded to change their minds by Biden’s performance.

        The objective is not to change the minds of Trump voters but to make sure the undecideds vote Biden and to get as many Democrats to vote as possible.

      2. “…a fairly reasoned argument, even if mostly fabricated…”

        Yes, he’s using the material implication from logic, half of which says:
        ‘False implies both False and True’ are themselves both True.

        1. With DT I’m sure it’s intuitive. He creates his own narrative, his own reality, without consciously engaging logically. Like any gifted artist or performer, he’s figured out a handful of tricks that work for him, and he engages in the role-play without thinking. Any rationalizations come after the fact.

          1. Yes, the Mass Murderer’s ignorance of propositional logic constitutes 1/999999999th 0f 1% of his overall ignorance.

          2. As a psychopath, he uses his small allotment of logic to gratify himself as quickly and directly as possible. Anyone, or any population standing in his way is simply an inconvenient obstacle to be pushed aside.

  8. Very, very important observation herewith … …
    just as AllWeAll ‘ve been ‘ counseled ‘ with
    when women, for ANY purpose, are upon the
    Nation’s / the World’s screen: lapelwear
    and neckwear and shirt colors and classic cut
    business suits’ colors … … b o r i n g.
    Boringly partisan … … blue and red and
    white and dark. Dark. Dark.

    ‘Course neither Campaign sought out,
    for this superbly necessarily influencing
    detail, … … MY counsel.

    Blue
    /s

  9. Twitter is running side-by-side of the candidates, with all caps running text. Reading the texts is fine by me.

    1. FaZACKly! I kept wanting to scream at the TV the simplest jury instruction: “arguments of counsel are not evidence.”

      All through it, Trump just kept spewing bullshit that OBVIOUSLY had no factual basis, and I really wanted Biden, at least once, to say: “what is the factual basis for that claim?” Like when Trump was banging on about how we’re turning the corner, and the vaccine will be ready in a few weeks, and we have this general ready to go to instantly have the military deliver them…

      Perfect opportunity: Biden (or the moderator) could have–should have–asked: “Really? What is the NAME of this general?”

      But no one ever called Trump on anything. He was just spewing bullshit, making shit up, and never got called on it. The fact checkers will bury him later, but that’s already old news, and no one will give a shit.

  10. The answer to the last question of the evening provided a succinct synopsis of Trump’s character.

    Ceiling Cat help us…

    1. Yes–and that was the one moment that Biden actually woke up and shone. I said to mi novia: he needs to IGNORE everything that Trump just said, and just ANSWER THE QUESTION!

      And damn but if he didn’t! Brilliantly.

  11. The winner will only be determined by the outcome of election. The question is this: When is a person unfit to serve in the office? Back in 1974 that question was pretty much answered by the congress. Nixon got on the helicopter and left the building. Today the congress is not competent to answer the question about a president who is much worse than Nixon. So only by election today can the unfit be removed. Normalizing dysfunctional behavior is standard with this president. He lies non-stop all the time and repeats the lies as many times as you can stand it. His plan right now, with 220,000 dead from the virus is open up and let it rip. What is stigmatizing is remaining silent about the psychological impairments of this guy and America is paying the price.

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