I'm much more worried about the post media debate spin

[Funtatlaguy]

than the debate itself.
Hillary will be just fine tomorrow night.
But, so many people just hear or read the spin that night or in the ensuing days.
The bar is so low for Trump.
If he just stands there and doesn't fall down slobbering, many will say he won. Sigh.

[Jim__]

1. Yes, the media pushes their narrative and that becomes the truth.

That might not be so bad if we had at least some decent reporting media.

[BigDemVoter]

2. Exactly. If he doesn't shit on the stage or throw himself on the floor for a grand tantrum,

the media will write/state that his performance was "Churchillian" or "presidential" or "impressive. . . ."

[CajunBlazer]

3. And with good reason

Studies show that some people give more credence to the post debate commentary of the talking heads than they do what they see and hear with their own eyes and ears during the debate. And that not even counting those who don't watch the debate itself.

[unblock]

4. the debate itself in many ways is a foregone conclusion.

they're so different in so many ways, they'll be talking past each other and not engaging directly. even if they have a "direct exchange", they'll be speaking different languages.

hillary will clobber trump on the fact-based, sober, rational, sensible, logical, empathetic, practical policy level.
trump will clobber hillary on the schoolyard bully, taunting, insulting, jeering, boasting, provocative level.

the only real question during the debate, to my mind, is whether or not hillary will get off a solid zinger. not her forte, though; worse, it's really hard to satire farce.

so, yeah, what really matters is the media spin. sadly, there are several easy narratives for a trump win spin (he acted presidential, he didn't fall down, he stood as an equal and gained credibility, *he* had a few good zingers, etc.) and the pro-hillary narratives are harder for the media to swallow (he's actually more sensible, more capable, more reasonable, etc.)

which is why i'm hoping for a good zinger. something that works on the school playground. unfortunately, that's the level of our idiotic and irresponsible media.

[bettyellen]

10. Agreed, but I am hoping his zingers fall totally flat. He's been pretty lame lately and I

Imagine it's because they are saving his best new lines for the debate. I do think he's such an ass he will have to pivot quickly to a set up for his lines- and sadly Holt will let him stray. I'm hoping he is erratic and also looks a bit cruel, because I think that's the real him.

[Wounded Bear]

5. Can't blame you...

Hopefully the lingering effects of the Hotel infomercial scam will prevail, and they will be a bit more negative toward Trump.

[tblue37]

15. But Chris Wallace is the first moderator, and I suspect Trump will back out of the other 2

debates, so the Wallace sideshow is all we will get--and Wallace is already telegraphing how he will help Trump and undermine Clinton.

He has insisted that he won't fact-check Trump's outrageous BS, and he has also said this:

Fox's Chris Wallace: Trump Has "Easier Challenge" At Debate Because "It's About How He Acts" As Opposed To What Clinton Has "Done"

http://www.mediamatters.org/video/2016/09/25/foxs-chris-wallace-trump-has-easier-challenge-debate-because-its-about-how-he-acts-opposed-what/213295

The bar is being set so low by Wallace that it is below ground!

I hope that the criticism Wallace is getting for such comments will pressure him to be a bit more evenhanded, but I worry that he is the kind of person who is more likely to get his back up and behave even worse just to show his critics that they can't influence him by criticizing him.

[Andy823]

16. Actually it's Lester Holt

Who is the first moderator, unless they have changed, and I believe Wallace is moderator for the last debate.

I looked it up:

NBC's Lester Holt, then CNN's Anderson Cooper and ABC's Martha Raddatz for the second debate, and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace for the last debate.

[Dem2]

6. Don't worry, be happy

This crap happens every cycle. The childish narcissist has everything to lose and otherwise not much to gain. Don't let the media pre-spin get to you.

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Same here

I keep remembering 2000.

[Jerry442]

8. 24 hours after the debate, we'll know where the media stand.

If they're with Trump, he wins the presidency.

[Rocknrule]

9. I think people are forgetting that we're electing a president, not a court jester

As long as Trump doesn't vomit pea soup and scream "Your mother sucks cocks in hell!", he will be declared the winner. Meanwhile, if Hillary sighs, her candidacy is effectively over according to the "liberal media".

[Funtatlaguy]

12. Not only can she not sigh

She can't roll her eyes, yawn, or look at her watch.
And, of course, she must smile a lot.

She faces a double, double standard.
One because she's the first woman in a Prez one on one.
Her hair, outfit, and every facial tick will be analyzed to death.

Two, by facing a know nothing, pathological lying narcissistic buffoon, she will have to be much smarter, nicer, and calmer than he is.
After all, we wouldn't want this idiotic bully to be totally exposed as the farce that he is.
How could the media have its October horse race, otherwise.

[MoonRiver]

11. With 100 million viewers, it will be "who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes."

[Blue Idaho]

13. The debate is nothing the spin is everything.

The debate lasts 90 minutes, the spin will last for at least a week.

[tblue37]

14. Exactly. The punditocracy gave the win to "feisty" W over Gore, even though

Gore clearly won the debate and W was about as articulate and informed as a chimpanzee.

But--OMG!--Gore dared to express (entirely natural) exasperation with W's nonsense by rolling his eyes and sighing.

[cleveramerican]

17. you are so right

reguardless of what happens in the hall,
the post debate spin room and the coverage the following day determine the long term winner.
The HRC teams know this and will hit the spin room hard, but in there the rules are less clear.


She has many clear advantages, but this ain't gonna be a cake walk.

[MyNameIsKhan]

18. Here is the bottomline

Whatever happens in the debate unless there is some major stumble by HRC, which the probability is almost zero, both bases will be with the candidate. As Jim Messina said 8-10% voters are really convincible, I have feeling that have voted more democratic than republican, they also donot like trump antics. So when election comes HRC will win will smaller margins that we have been used to in age of Obama. Debates eventually will have zero impact.