I was taught “if you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.” That makes it next to impossible for me to say anything about Monday night’s presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
I approached it with trepidation, knowing I’d hate it but determined to watch it for myself and not get a distillation or interpretation from some third party.
There’s little I can say about it that you haven’t seen or heard already. However, two little things the media latched onto that I totally missed at the time were Hillary’s shimmy and Trump’s sniffing. Critically important observations there (not). Bless the media! That sniffling could be a coke habit! That shimmy could be an early sign of Parkinson’s! Wherever would we be without the mainstream media to point out these critical details?*
When 1996 Miss Universe Alecia Machado was mentioned toward the end of the debate, I either didn’t know or didn’t remember her. So I looked up the full story from several sources and concluded, for the umpteenth time, that Trump is an ugly, incorrigible misogynist. Disgustingly so. A real pig. … gag! … Apparently he even took the press to the gym to watch Machado exercise so he could shame her as publicly as possible. As for Miss Machado’s weight, Trump (he with the pot belly, orange skin, and weird hair) calling her “Miss Piggy” is very much the pot calling the kettle black.
Most of the rest of the debate was old news. But the Machado story was new to me. And it was stomach-turning.
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*No, I don’t think for a second that Trump uses coke or Clinton has Parkinson’s. I was trying to make a point about how the media exaggerate the importance of every detail, no matter how insignificant it might be. (Judging from some of the comments below, I failed.) I think both the sniffing and the shimmying are ridiculously insignificant.
Don’t want to turn your stomach more, but a look at comments by female employees at one of his posh California golf clubs could cause additional illness. According to testimony by several folks, Trump told his managers to fire hostesses who were “not good looking.” Some managers actually adjusted shifts to hide the more competent, but less beautiful, employees from the Trumpian eye when he visited.
Apparently if a woman doesn’t look like a porcelain Barbie doll (eg, Melania), she’s a fat, ugly pig worthy only of disdain. I applaud the managers who protected their employees from him.
I saw the shimmy but didn’t even think much of it. I recall thinking in the back of my mind that the press is going to go nuts over that — and they did.
The sniffing, on the other hand, was driving me insane since the first sniff. Trump doesn’t drink or use drugs. His older brother, Freddy, was an alcoholic and drank himself into an early grave in 1981 – he was 42 yrs old (yes, I just looked up the details – I knew it was something along these lines, just didn’t know the specifics). From what I’ve read, he’s never had any alcohol at all. Thank goodness for small favors — could you imagine this guy all drunk on martinis? He’d be louder and more obnoxious than he is without booze. Getting back to the sniffing though.
I respect the fact that Donald has not had any booze his entire life — and that is about the only thing about him I’ll ever respect. So I would imagine it goes hand-in-hand with drugs. However, his sniffing during the debate was textbook behavior of someone who just snorted the powder. He had the strong sniffs at first with a comfortable pace — not to fact, nor too slow. He was irritable, which isn’t unusual. The sniffs were not wet indicating a sinus drip of some sort. Then as the sniffing faded away, I could see his behavior change. Wasn’t as hyped up. Looked tired. And definitely didn’t look like he wanted to be there. If I didn’t know he’s a teetotaler, I would believe 100% he had hit the Peruvian powder.
Ya never know, though. Every addict, or even the casual drug user, always believe they can handle the drug, so I don’t doubt Trump feels like he is in complete control over any drug (little does he know…). Trump may have been running too thin and decided to do a bit of coke to make it through. I dunno. But the sniffing was horribly annoying.
I was trying to be sarcastic when I suggested coke. I first wrote pneumonia, but decided that didn’t work since Hillary had just had it. And sinus problems didn’t sound serious enough. If I could think of something really awful where sniffing is a symptom, I’d have used that. Something the press would consider serious and disqualifying. Red meat. Squirrel!
Actually, I think coke use is an immediate disqualifier.
Yeah. He wasn’t coked up. He’s going his whole life without drugs and only had beer when younger. Quit all alcohol after his brother died as an alcoholic. As much as I like to find fault in this bigot, I (unlike Trump) do not lie or make things up. I do have to say, though, as a former snorter back in the 90’s, that was a near-textbook demonstration of what someone is like immediately after they snort. The sniffing starts strong and frequent, then starts to die down in 15 minutes, and pretty much done in 30 minutes. Plus you go from energetic to very tired in that same time frame. I did a perfect demonstration.
Winston Churchill would not have anybody, who would not, as he put it, “take a drink” working for him (He loved a tipple or two)
He believed that those that wouldn’t drink had something to hide and would not be inclined to tell him the truth and what he needed to hear; but what they thought he’d want them to say.! A wise man!
On the other hand Adolph Hitler was not only a vegeterian but a complete teetotaler; enough said!
Perhaps Mrs Clinton was shimmying because she was dreading the hand of Mr trump getting ready to be placed condescendingly upon her back. (I know I would and I’m a bloke). He is a vile creature who
I’m starting to fear may well be sitting in the Oval Office before too long
More a shudder than a shimmy? Makes sense. Although as I recall she was smiling at the time.
They get paid to smile, and anyway she probably thought she’d just trounced the trump!
I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what she was thinking — because for the most part, she did.
I must admit I could not bring myself to watch or listen.
I wouldn’t have subjected myself to it either if I couldn’t vote … and if I trusted the media to report it objectively.
If ever there was a man who NEEDS to have a beer, it’s Drumpf.
Personally I’d suggest a straitjacket and a strong sedative.
Well, hey, if I had my druthers, I’d go right for the euthanasia.
I will willingly read all sorts of things about Trumps faults and bad habits. I detest the guy! But I need to question your interpretation of Hillary’s ‘shimmy’. I would in no way say that it could be a precursor to Parkinson’s. I think it was a way to unload some stress…and don’t you think she was entitled, having kept her composure all through the terrible abuse coming at her, to shake some of it off?
Well, I really failed with the sarcasm. I should know by now that it’s much too easily missed or misinterpreted online. Of course I don’t think her shimmy is a precursor to Parkinson’s or anything else (but the press jumped on it as though it were actually something critically important). I thought it was just a rather typical, perhaps a bit girlish, gesture of either delight or relief (I don’t remember the context).
I’ll go along with that! 🙂
Yes, it was sarcasm…point taken. I think I am way over the edge when it comes to criticism of Hillary, though. I’m Canadian, so I won’t be voting. But he who shall not be named is so dangerous, that Hillary must win. So I’m a bit jumpy, as we should all be.
I know I am; from what we get down this way it seems as if trump (never dignify this person by capitaizing the first letter of his name) is gaining, then again it might just be our right wing media & wishful thinking on their part.
He was pulling even until the debate. He lost that bigtime, and I hope the next two debates go the same way.
Trump musn’t win. Period. The man is dangerous.
It’s dangerous because he’s so damned brainless; he’s just mouth almighty, trouble is plenty of people like that, think it’s shows signs of intelligence, because they’re so damned dumb themselves; The US is in crisis!
As bad as Trump is, his badness doesn’t elevate Hillary’s goodness any more than a Cobra elevates a rattlesnake’s. A vote for a lesser evil is still a vote for evil.
True. But like it or not, one of them is going to be president. Anyone who wants a say in the matter had better vote.
What a sad commentary. One of the main reasons I’ll vote for Johnson is that he isn’t a a lying D or an idiot R.
It’s sad but true. And right now it looks like Texas is going to Trump. Voting for Johnson probably won’t change that, so you have the luxury of a protest vote without affecting much. Here in Colorado, Trump and Clinton have stayed within 4 points of each other, and Johnson has had as much as 13%. I must vote for Clinton or risk the unthinkable — having the state’s delegates go to Trump.
Correction. A new Monmouth poll released today puts Clinton up by 11 points in Colorado. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s due to the Alicia Machado story and our large Hispanic population.
If you’ve read Johnson’s agenda statement following the debate you would see that a large majority of his Libertarian proposals agree with liberal philosophy rather than conservative ideas. It is senseless to vote for a third party candidate who has zero chance of winning. Thus, people who subscribe to Libertarian philosophy will do more to advance their ideas by voting for Clinton, not Trump.
I’ve read very little about him but do agree with a lot of Libertarian principles, isolationism being a notable exception. (I’m a non-interventionist, not an isolationist.) If I were ambivalent about the major party candidates, I might vote Libertarian. But not this year. Not with someone as dangerous as Donald Trump in the mix.
Well, Gary Johnson has revealed that he is a know-nothing. I wonder if his inability to name a foreign leader he liked was due to years of using weed destroying his memory. Only speculating!
And having a hate-on for Hillary is not a qualification for the office of President, as Green Party candidate Jill Stein seems to think.
I will have no problem voting for Hillary. In fact, I can hardly wait!
Johnson’s flubs about Aleppo and foreign leaders might be due to Libertarian isolationism. Maybe he feels no need to know anything about anything beyond US borders. That’s pure speculation on my part; I’ve only seen clips of his flubs, not entire interviews or speeches.
Johnson’s agenda statement published in the NY Times after the debate includes many ideas that make sense. All the Libertarian ideas are not isolationism–free trade surely is not. He’s not a dope. But some of the Libertarian concepts are too extreme to be endorsed by folks on the far right or left. I think a modified version of Libertarianism will define the Republican party in the future if the GOP survives at all following its destruction by Trumpism.
I’ve not watched his appearances on TV, other than the Libertarian debate with 3 or 4 candidates on stage — and he was clearly the brightest of the bunch. Which leaves me at a loss to explain his recent flubs that have been so widely publicized. In any case, it will be interesting to see what happens to the GOP after this election. Trump is really driving a wedge between its factions.
Like Johnson, I can name several foreign leaders, but none I like or admire. Domestic either for that matter and that will include the two current favorite idiotic wannabes.
I’ll admit the first reports I saw did not mention (or I didn’t notice) that the question was about a foreign leader he admires, not just any foreign leader. Makes a big difference. He should have said there aren’t any he admires, if that’s the case.
Donald will make any male-female relationship harder over the next 30 years, his impact will be felt.
That’s because a Trump presidency will set us back 30 years, if not more. And it won’t be just male-female relationships.
I don’t deny that Trump’s election would set us back for God knows how long, but I feel the same way about Hillary. I don’t trust anything she says. At all.
As you’ve said before, it’s the lesser of two evils. And if you want a say in which one you’re going to look at for the next four years, you’d better vote for or against one of them. A vote for Johnson will help one of them, but you don’t know for sure which one; it’s a cinch it won’t elect Johnson.