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I don't bother watching live political circus, and I didn't this time. I wasn't ever going to, except I accidentally came across a few seconds, and then couldn't stop myself.
I watched it all the way through, then I watched it a few more times, dissected by political and body language experts of different leanings. I did it just to confirm that I wasn't imagining what I saw.
Normally, I am extremely cynical. A few seconds of a politician doing their thing is enough for me to see that they are a moron, a liar, a desperate, incompetent wannabe, or perhaps all of the above.
Not in this case. Vance was undeniably spectacular. I actually saw a politician who is good, for the first time in my life. Not weird, not unlikable, as the propaganda goes. It was my first time seeing him, and I expected the usual. Nope. Nothing ordinary here. This man is a master politician, and not at all sarcastically. He is actually that good.
Waltz, on the other hand, came off as a bafoon that he obviously is. He is a clown - watch him waving, pointing, and kicking air. Cue circus music. He is a liar (and not a good one), a fool, a simpleton, a wannabe -- a true politician in the sarcastic sense. A waste of oxygen.
You don't have to agree with what either one said. Watch it and see how to debate. It was a master class.
Vance played it (and Waltz) like a violin. He introduced himself, taking instant control of the room. He didn't take the bait when baited. He didn't sweat, mumble, stumble, pause, or look down, or look completely terrified like Waltz did. He got Waltz to actually nod in agreement when talking about illegal immigrants hiking rent prices for everyone. He checked the moderators when they, against their own rules, tried to inject propaganda into the discussion.
I think we will see this man become president within the next few election cycles, unless something dramatic happens.
It is humbling to see a virtuoso -- whatever field they may be in. I never thought I'd have anything positive to say about a politician but here I am.
All this was about form, not substance.
As for the content, I had little to disagree with -- with Vance. Israel? Yes, they should do whatever they want, being a sovereign nation. Nothing said about support. Check. Illegal immigration? Well, there are laws on the books, and either change them or comply. Check. Trump did not start any wars. Check. Low taxes. Check. Tariffs.... well, that's stupid, but whatever. Care about environment? Don't buy foreign (i.e. Chinese) goods. Eh, that almost makes sense... Abortion? I'm all for the government not meddling with our lives -- take the good and the bad that comes with it, and neither one made an impression.
Walz, on the other hand, failed to inspire. I can't remember any salient points -- just the gaffes: He claimed to be friends with school shooters. He stumbled about the lies he told about his time in China, when caught. Sweaty and confused, in summary, he mumbled off some boilerplate "we are the party of joy" faux positive nonsense.
So it was the first time I didn't slap my head in disbelief. There was a clear, obvious winner here -- on technical points, and message communicated (whether you agree with it or not).
I may change my mind, but it looks like there is one person in the running who is not a total incompetent idiot.
Oct 04 Ā· 2 months ago
š istvan Ā· Oct 04 at 02:29:
It was a reminder of what political debates looked like 20-30 years ago before USA decided to speed run Idiocracy.
š stack [OP] Ā· Oct 04 at 14:38:
Well, he is very likely a psychopath, or at least a sociopath, I think all politicians are. But at least he is checking his behavior, and not referring to people as 'the basket of deplorables' or such.
Maybe it's the born-privileged psychopaths that are particularly offensive.
Then there are idiots like Walz or Biden, or even Kamala. They are more likely borderline, and desperately need to be admired, and lying just comes with the territory. They just do what the Central Committee tells them.
ā°ļø murdock Ā· Oct 04 at 14:43:
JD Vance reads to me as the typical career politician: ivy league educated, made his millions working for corrupt capitalists, and pitching an origin story catering to the working class. Having zero legislative accomplishments in his short political career doesn't help either. At least Waltz has done stuff (good stuff!) as governor. Personally, I couldn't care less about how TV-trained he is during a debate.
š stack [OP] Ā· Oct 04 at 16:20:
True enough: Walz has built a career doing apparently decent things, although I am not entirely sure.
Vance, pretty much bullshitting. In my book a politician who does nothing is actually the best kind.
Trump, well we know what he did.
Biden built his career keeping black kids out of white schools, and as a vice president, made millions shaking down foreign governments.
Harris-- as an opportunistic yet mediocre prosecutor.
ā¤ļø James Ā· Oct 05 at 09:31:
As always with these type of threads, I find it remarkable that two people can see and hear the same thing and come to wildly different opinions.
š istvan Ā· Oct 05 at 14:34:
Everything these days is gold dress blue dress.
š stack [OP] Ā· Oct 05 at 16:57:
What's funny is that we set up these competitions, but when the side we root for performs poorly, we say 'oh it means nothing'. And by 'we', I mean 'some of you', just trying out my debating skills.
š stack [OP] Ā· Oct 05 at 18:14:
I don't know how I missed it the first few times. I think I have a mental block on the topic...
"the expansion of Israel and its proxies must be supported'...
š istvan Ā· Oct 06 at 02:41:
When it comes to world politics, Iām only rooting for the meteor. āļø
ā°ļø murdock Ā· Oct 08 at 02:55:
praying for a mass extinction event isn't really my cup of tea, personally.
š stack [OP] Ā· Oct 08 at 16:15:
I'm not biting.
š Pollard Ā· Oct 21 at 13:51:
I'm liking this new unity movement but I think the system may be too currupt to fix. I also think if this new Unity Team wins, the team will quickly fall apart due to egos clashing. They're all the smartest personl in the room types.
Even if they hold it together, it's still a corrupt system. People with a $200k salary turning into millionaires is a straight up corrupted system and they are not going to fix the system that they get rich from.
Our politicians work for Big Biz, Big AG, Big Pharma and the MIC