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Republican debate

Blog No. 88. Teflon Don: Did He Really Say That?

Through some magical power, Donald Trump has managed to enter a fact-free zone that can only be the envy of his competitors. Unlike the statements of the other candidates, Trump’s are not scrutinized for accuracy, and indeed they are generally assumed to be unprovable or flatly wrong. No, Trump’s pronouncements are assessed primarily on the degree unpleasantness with which they are delivered. (We imagine a campaign logo: “The Surly Bird Gets the Worm.”) He appears to have succeeded John Gotti to the title of the Teflon Don.

Other candidates have attempted to pick him up on this or that fact, and Glenn Kessler has depleted his inventory of Pinocchios in making multiple awards to the Donald. But no one, so far as we know, has made a comprehensive review of Trump’s claims and observations, even within the limits of a single debate. We though it might be a useful experiment applied to the Fifth Debate. Confined to that debate the experiment is obviously limited and will omit any number of his more noxious expostulations. Nevertheless, one has to start somewhere. What follows is the entirety of what Trump had to say at the Fifth Republican Debate, omitting only various personal comments directed at other candidates or the moderators. We have supplied headings and questions and comments in bold.Read More »Blog No. 88. Teflon Don: Did He Really Say That?

Special Bulletin. Can a Future GOP Debate Be More Informative and Entertaining? A Modest Proposal.

In our last blog, we were critical of the format and the performance of the moderators at the debate conducted by CNBC. Since that time there has been extensive discussion and “debate about the debate.”  While numerous suggestions have been made by the candidates and various observers, most of them have been little more than tweaking. We have something a bit more radical (or “modest” in the Swiftian sense).Read More »Special Bulletin. Can a Future GOP Debate Be More Informative and Entertaining? A Modest Proposal.

Special Bulletin. The GOP Debate and Paul Ryan’s Debut as Speaker

We found watching the Republican debate to be, on the whole, a dispiriting experience. Part of the problem lay again with the format and the approach of the “moderators.”  We have previously observed that such events are not debates in the usual sense of the word, but are more similar to a joint press conference. The moderators seem intent not so much on moderating, or exploring issues, as attempting to embarrass the candidates or provoke hostility among them.

Slide1Read More »Special Bulletin. The GOP Debate and Paul Ryan’s Debut as Speaker

Blog No. 75. Returning From Abroad to the GOP Debates

In July, we were on vacation in Europe, actually an expedition to celebrate our 50th Wedding Anniversary, and we made little effort to absorb political insights along the way. For example, the conundrums of the Greek economy, refugees flooding the continent, and the question of whether the United Kingdom will remain in the European Union, seemed as vexing at closer range as they had from afar. We did, however, observe the presence of a large rhinoceros outside the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. IMG_2677We harbored no illusion that there was any political significance to that handsome statue, but one does tend to take signs and portents where one finds them.Read More »Blog No. 75. Returning From Abroad to the GOP Debates