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Spiking the Debate Ball for Trump

Posted: September 12, 2024 by datechguy in Uncategorized
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There were two reasons why the MSM spun Kamala Harris as the winner of Tuesday’s debate:

The first was to try and demoralize Trump voters who might have missed the debate.

The second was to make any steal credible. This is actually why Joe Biden had to go. For people to go along with the steal of the election as they did last time, it has to be at least plausible and it simply wasn’t plausible with Joe Biden in the state he is in.

And while I saw some evidence of the former from people who did not see that debate alas that pesky reality keeps getting in the way, because a lot of people did see it:

The Nielsen figures show that 58 million people tuned in for the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, roughly 6.5 million more than who watched the debate between Biden and Trump, which likely led to the former’s decision to drop from the race. According to Axios, the viewership numbers for Tuesday may rise about 60 million “once Nielsen finishes a more comprehensive tally.”

“The highest-rated game in the NFL’s opening week averaged 29 million viewers. The debate roughly doubled that. Americans are tuned in to this election, especially now that Harris has replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket,” noted Axios.

And those who got their first taste of Kamala didn’t move people on issues that matter to them

Debate watchers also gave Trump a 23-point advantage over Harris when it came to whom they trusted to handle immigration and a 6-point edge on handling the role of commander in chief. 

That seems to match what some of those CBS voters were saying, with one talking about Trump’s effective closing statement— if Harris was going to do things, why hasn’t she done any of them now, while she’s in office?

Remember this is AFTER watching the debate.

Then there is the Reuters stuff that I mentioned yesterday that’s worth repeating with a little more detail:

Reuters interviewed 10 people who were still unsure how they were going to vote in the Nov. 5 election before they watched the debate. Six said afterward they would now either vote for Trump or were leaning toward backing him. Three said they would now back Harris and one was still unsure how he would vote.

Harris and Trump are in a tight race and the election will likely be decided by just tens of thousands of votes in a handful of battleground states, many of whom are swing voters like the undecided voters who spoke to Reuters.

Although the sample size was small, the responses suggested Harris might need to provide more detailed policy proposals to win over voters who have yet to make up their minds.

Five said they found Harris vague during the more than 90-minute debate on how she would improve the U.S. economy and deal with the high cost of living, a top concern for voters.

The encounter was particularly important for Harris, with a weekend New York Times/Siena College opinion poll showing that more than a quarter of likely voters feel they do not know enough about her, in contrast to the well-known Trump.

The Trump converts said they trusted him more on the economy, even though all said they did not like him as a person. They said their personal financial situation had been better when he was president between 2017-2021. Some singled out his proposal to tax foreign imports, although economists say that is likely to raise prices.

And then of course there is C-SPAN not knows as a Trump Bastion:

But to me the real tell was after the debate, and Sarah Hoyt nails it brilliantly:

Last night in the PJM liveblogging, it was taken as fact that Kamala was winning because her team was already demanding another debate. This didn’t make much sense, except under “oh, she wants to rub his face on it” maybe. But even so–

It wasn’t till this morning the full stupid of this hit me.

So, Kamala managed not to Biden it on stage. Great.

And yes, she, personally, might be stupid enough not to realize how much help she had from the mods and likely from her little friend in her ear. And think it would be fun to do it again.

But Que Mala’s team isn’t Que Mala. I suspect they treat her about like Biden’s team treated him. And they’re the same people.

They know she’s not that great. And they know that in the primaries in 16 she imploded in the debates. They’ve been carefully keeping her away from any opportunities to interact with press or even the public. And please keep in mind they allowed BIDEN to mingle. So, this is their estimation of her intellect and ability.

And yet, despite a supposedly HUGE bump from the debate in the polls, a bump such as puts her out of reach…. She’s asking for another debate, and apparently pressing the point.

People! I raised children. The kid who follows the other going “I demand a rematch!” is not the winner. Ever.

Period.

You can tell she writes books for a living can’t you? As for Trump:

At the same time, regardless of what Nancy Grey Goose Pelosi says, you know Trump is not a coward. Heck, we have photo evidence of it. If Kamala really were that far ahead in the polls from the debate, Trump’s team and frankly Trump would want a rematch. Also, Trump, right? He’d be spoiling for a fight, going “I demand a rematch” even if his team were trying to hold him back. Say what you will of him, if he ran from a fight he wouldn’t have thrown his hat in the ring this year, despite everything they’ve thrown at him. Or he’d have quit after the failed assassination attempt. And his ego is big enough if he had bombed, he’d want to show how great he really was. And again, his team would really just have to get out of the way.

Instead Trump is saying “Only on Fox and with my chosen moderators.” I.e. he’s putting CONDITIONS on it.

Guys?

This is not how a loser acts.

In fact, the roles are reversed and require not just that Kamala be brutally stupid, (which I’ll buy) but that her entire team also be too stupid to remember to breathe out after breathing in. And it breaks character for Trump.

Finally there is this from the NEW YORK FRIGGEN TIMES:

But not all voters, especially those undecided few who could sway the election, were effusive about the vice president’s performance.

In interviews, these undecided voters acknowledged that Harris seemed more presidential than Trump. And they said she laid out a sweeping vision to fix some of the country’s most stubborn problems.

But they also said she did not seem much different from Biden, and they wanted change.

And most of all, what they wanted to hear — and didn’t — was the fine print.

Frank Luntz actually said with the straight face that Trump lost the election on Tuesday, I’m sure that will keep him in good standing with the media he depends on but as I said on Tuesday, reality doesn’t care.

Just finished watching the Debate which remined me of my youth when Andre the Giant would take on three people at once. As Megyn Kelly put it:

How bad? This bad:

But the big problem here for all those that I’m sure are somehow declaring Harris the winner are missing one thing that is vital.

People know Donald Trump, they are used to seeing Donald Trump as Donald Trump, they are not used to seeing Harris and she looked AWFUL.

The body language, the expressions, the tones of voice, they are just horrible and annoying and it’s not just men who aren’t going to like it. Women are going to see this and it will turn them off.

Most people don’t get a lot on the actual issues, they judge on impressions. And Kamala gives you the impression of someone you simply would not want to have to sit with at a dinner, at a party, or at a bar. She is just plain unlikable.

Depending on how bad the cheating is Trump just won this election, and the real joke is that the Harris people just doesn’t see it.

Update: Apparently the votes saw a different debate than the MSM did:

Reuters interviewed ten undecided voters before and after a debate. Six of them shifted toward supporting Trump, three leaned toward Harris, and one remained uncertain. That’s a rather solid outcome for Trump.

“Although the sample size was small, the responses suggested Harris might need to provide more detailed policy proposals to win over voters who have yet to make up their minds,” wrote Reuters.

Reality doesn’t care what the spin is.

Patriots, White Sox and Not Getting Cocky

Posted: September 9, 2024 by datechguy in Uncategorized

One of the warnings that Glenn Reynolds constantly gives about election 2024 is not to get cocky, reminding people if they want to elect Trump they need to get out there and act.

The best reminder of this I can think of came yesterday in Cincinnati and in Boston.

In Boston the Red Sox were playing their final game against the hapless Chicago White Sox who went into that game needing 9 wins to avoid surpassing the 1962 New York Mets as the worst team since the founding of the American League in 1900 and the World Series Era (1903).

The Redsox are fighting for the last playoff stop in the AL so had every incentive to win but despite this the White Sox surprised a bunch of people by taking the final game of the series at Fenway.

That was a pretty big surprise but not as big as what happened in Cincinnati.

The New England Patriots with a rookie coach opened their season against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Patriots starting quarterback was Jacoby Brisett who earned his Superbowl ring as a backup in New England when Tom Brady engineered the most impossible comeback in the history of the game. The similarities end there. For the last month we have been hearing from every talk radio host in NE that the patriots have one of the worst if not THE worst set of wide receivers and a suspect offensive line. Nobody gave them a chance against the Bengals with an elite QB at the helm.

New England however played ball control football running up a storm and controlling the clock while their defense held Cincy to a mere 10 points on the way to a 16-10 victory. More people in Boston and elsewhere were picking with White Sox over the Red Sox than were picking the pats over the Bengals.

What’s the lesion here? There is a reason why they actually play the game, it’s the same with elections. Don’t assume it’s in the bag, do something about it. The Pats and the White Sox did.

On my first regular Sunday off in almost forever I thought I’d take the time to update you on the two Dynasty Leagues I am currently running as both seasons are nearing their end.

1997

The 2nd season of our 80 game once a week short league has seven weeks to go. With no wild cards in this league it’s all down to winning divisions and 3 of the four are still very much in play. Because of the structure of the league ( 2 games series vs opposite league, 3 game series vs opposite division and 4 game series within divisions) and the fact that the final three series are all in division there is the potential of as much as a 12 game shift in the last 3 weeks.

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
New York4318.705—-
Cleveland3526.574812
Baltimore2932.475146
Boston2536.410182
ALEast

Led By Tony Gwynn who is threatening .400 (.395) and leading the majors in hits and the AL in OBP while 3rd in the league in RBI the Yanks are dominating with the best record by far helped by Andres Galarraga who leads the majors in RBI, Todd Jones who leads the majors in saves, Workhorse Andy Pettitte who leads the majors in fewest HR per 9 innings despite being 6th in Innings and Todd Stottlemyre 2nd in the AL in ERA & 4th in Avg against behind teammate Dustin Hermanson who is 3rd in the AL while 5th in k’s per 9 inn. Realistically only the Indians are still in play whose cause has not been helped by Eric Gunderson leading the AL in blown saves despite the efforts of Jeff Blauser getting on base and Matt Stairs knocking them out and driving them in.

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
Seattle3625.590—-
Chicago3326.559219
Minnesota3129.5174 1/216
Toronto2239.361146
ALWest

In the wild wild AL west only Toronto is on the way out. Seattle leads Thanks to Ken Griffey Jr. 31 HR 13 more than anyone else in the majors and Randy Johnson carrying them on their backs (1st in Majors in K/9 tied for 1st in wins 2nd in K’s overall, innings pitched & avg against, with help from Alex Rodriguez (4th in AL hits). Unlike today’s White Sox these guys are only one game away in the loss column with Jeff Shaw providing the saves while Frank Thomas the big hurt provides the offense with Mike Cameron getting on base ahead of him and J. T Snow Slugging along. Meanwhile the Twins are still in striking distance thanks to Pedro Martinez who leads in all the categories that Johnson is 2nd in and Chuck Knobloch who has been a stolen base and runs machine. Billy Wagner helps out with 11 saves 2nd in both AL & Majors but his three blown saves haven’t helped.

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
Atlanta3823.623—-
Cincinnati3526.574317
Pittsburgh2734.443119
Florida2638.40613 1/25
NLEast

Atlanta maintains a 3 game lead thanks to Greg Maddux, Rick Reed and Francisco Cordova all in the top 10 in ERA in the majors and Mariano Rivera who has saved 10 while blowing only one while Larry Walker (NL batting & Slugging lead) Tino Martinez (2nd NL slugging) provide the offense. Cincinnati with a below avg pitching stall and wracked by injury are kept alive by the return of Rickey Henderson and Lance Johnson from the DL. Pittsburgh recent 7-3 run has given them hope but the real story is last years World Series runner up Florida who despite Mark McGuire leading the league in HR, Barry Bonds leading the majors in walks and triples and Curt Schilling & Keven Brown both being top 4 in NL ERA and 1 & 2 in NL inning pitched can’t seem to get a break

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
St. Louis2931.483—-
Los Angeles2932.4751/220
San Diego2435.4074 1/217
Houston2638.406514
NLWest

The bad news is the NL west has four teams under .500 the good news is that there is only 5 game separating the 1st and last place teams meaning that likely all four teams will be in the thick of it till the end. St. Louis has Ray Lankford and Vinnie Castilla (2nd in NL HR) and David Cone keeping them up. LA counters with Ismael Valdez 1st in the NL in avg against, WHIP & ERA carrying the team on his back. San Diego (Kenny Loftin & Billy Ripkin) and Houston (Craig Biggio , Brady Anderson ) both have stars helping them out but alas for SD while Hoffman leads the league in saves he is 2nd in Blown saves while Antonio Osuna has been even worse saving seven while blowing six most in the majors.

1972

In the 1972 league there is a lot less mystery in terms of division leaders but because of the three wild card spots in each league it’s still interesting.

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
New York9949.669N/AClinched
California 7672.51423+ 1 1/2E/7 to clinch
Cleveland6880.459327 1/2E/9
Kansas City5986.40738 1/215E/3
Baltimore5989.3994016 1/2E
AL ALPHA

The only question left for the Yankees is will they get home field advantage over the Giants if they get to the World Series. Their return to the Polo Grounds with their short left and right field has given Bobby Murcer, Reggie Smith and rookie John Maybury a grand slugging boost while Terry Forster has been light out leading the majors in saves. California led by Tommy John (1st in ERA) had the 1st wild card for a while but a 2-8 skid has hurt along with Tom Bradley (2nd in Losses). They currently have the 2nd wild card but is close enough to get the 1st and the bye or drop to 3rd. With 16 to go they still need 6 more wins to secure that playoff birth so they need Manny Mota and Jose Cardenal to heat up. Cleveland seemed totally out of it but the aforementioned crash of California and Minnesota and a 6-4 run has kept them alive. Kansas City’s Bert Blyleven led the majors in innings and the AL in strikeouts and vet Frank Robinson put up a good fight in a losing cause while Baltimore had three players (Don Baylor, Amos Otis and Rick Auerbach) in the top 10 of stolen bases

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
Milwaukee9454.635N/AClinched
Boston7870.52716+ 3 1/2E/5 to clinch
Minnesota7471.51018 1/2—-E/9 to clinch
Oakland6682.4462810 1/2E/7
Washington6385.4263119 1/2E/4
AL Beta

Milwaukee returns to the playoffs thanks to a bounce back season from Pete Rose, and exceptional season from Ron Fairly and spectacular pitching from Ken Holtzman and last year’s Cy Young winner Don Wilson with Ken Sanders returning to save 20. Boston’s 8-2 run propelled them from the 3rd wildcard to the first led by Carl Yastrzemski whose return to Fenway has him leading the AL in batting (.330) and tied with Pete Rose for the MLB lead in OBP while rookie Carlton Fisk is doubling up a storm. Minnesota has been crashing and burning but still has Nate Colbert and his 33 HR keeping them going. Their 3 game series vs Cleveland will be critical. Oakland’s surprise sweep of Milwaukee has kept them technically alive with some help from Jim Brewer and Roy White while Washington hopes have maybe one more week left unless Mike Epstein and workhorse Jim Kaat and Richie Scheinblum (91 runs 182 hits) can pull off a miracle

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
New York 8863.583N/ATo clinch 12/ 3
Atlanta8563.5741 1/2+ 4To Clinch 15/3
Cincinnati 8167.5475 1/2—-9/10 to clinch
Oakland6682.4462810 1/2E/7
Philadelphia6784.4442115 1/2E/E
NL Alpha

The surging New York Daytraders (Mets) have gone 25-7 in their last 32 games (.781) to roar into 1st place with starting Pitchers Phil Niekro (21 wins), Tom Seaver (20 wins) and Steve Carlton (22 wins) and the group(1, 2 & 3 in NL inning pitched add to that big years from Willie Stargell, Leron Lee, Dick Allen and Willie Mays who is constantly walked to get on base for them they’re on their way to a return to the playoffs but despite a change in managers Atlanta who is even in the loss column led by likely MVP Billy Williams along with Catfish Hunter (23 wins 2nd in MLB) and Fergie Jenkins aren’t giving up that division lead that they’ve held most of the year without a fight. Meanwhile the big Red Machine of Cincinnati with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Bobby Tolan are only 5 1/2 out of first while 5 up for the last wild card. The St. Louis Cardinals led by Bob Gibson (21 Wins 1st in MLB in HR/9) and Matty Alou (.330 avg) and closer Darold Knowles (23 saves) have no intention of going quietly. Philly might be out of this this year, but with Joe Torrie being joined by rookies Greg Luzinski and a young 3rd baseman named Schmidt are sure to be a threat in 73

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
San Francisco9850.662N/A1 to Clinch
Pittsburgh8464.56814+ 31/ to clinch 7
Montreal6781.4533114E/1
Chicago5692.3784225E
Los Angeles42106.2845639E
NL Beta

The 1970 World Champion Giants are one win away from clinching the NL Beta with 24 game winner Jim Palme 2nd in the NL in ERA 1.98 leading the way and Dock Ellis 2.01 ERA right behind him Meanwhile Bobby Bonds (90 runs 102 RBI 30 SB) is seeing a ton of pitchers as rookie Darryl Evans (123 BB 1st in MLB) and Veteran Harmon Killebrew (90 BB) keep the fear of God in pitchers along with a powerful rookie named Dave Kingman. Gaylord Perry of the Pirates leads the Majors in ERA and has 22 wins to go with it while bullpen ace Mike Marshall has chalked up 23 saves along with a still dangerous Hank Aaron (29 HR 98 walks ) all are conspiring to keep the 2nd wild card spot in the Bucks hands and are certainly in range of that #1 wild card spot. The young Montreal Team are a game from elimination but pitcher Baylor Moore who leads the majors in K/9 (11.72) and Lou Brock (52 sb 1st in majors & .326 avg) and closer Tug McGraw (31 saves) made it a fight. The Cubs can look back at Steve Brawn .333 avg 3rd in NL and Pitcher Mike Paul while last years Series winner the LA Dodgers combo of Don Sutton (3rd in WHIP) and Nolan Ryan (1st in Majors in avg against .165 & 2nd in K/9 11.19 are unlikely to stay down for long.

If you are interested in joining either league we currently have one opening in 1997 and people joining the waiting list for 1972 are welcome. If we get 4 people on the list we’ll expand.