Lobenthal.com

Trump had a horrible debate night, but the Dems still cannot control their impulse to fall into a defensive crouch at the slightest provocation. Trump publicly soils himself–so to speak, of course–on a daily basis, and the GOP wraps him in louder and louder hosannas. By contrast.

to convince America that this debate was a referndudm on Biden’s, and not Trump’s fitness for office?

Their attempt to reframe the narrative will be one of the actual stories deduced from the debate debacle–beware of the initial hysteria ginned up on cue by custodians of conventional wisdom.

In part because of their hunger for ratings above all else, the corporate media attaches much more importance to debates than to actual presidential performance, as Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out last night.

And because their world is so self-referential they believe televised debates mean more to the electorate than they actually do.

And besides, does the punditry think that America that didn’t see that Trump, more than always, is an obstreperous, ignorant, dishonest blowhard? As well as, as Biden did remind them, a convicted felon.

Remember how the corporate media graded GW on a sliding scale, the same way they’re doing with Trump? Remember how Bush’s nonsense was ignored so that they could foreground Gore’s hurricane sighs?  We’ve been down this road before. And, of course, Gore went on to win the election, but was denied his victory by the judicial coup effected by the corrupt and extreme right-wing majority Rehnquist  Supreme Court.

Mary Trump writes:

“And I don’t know why the focus after the debate has been almost exclusively on Biden’s age and not Donald’s fascism, hostility towards our allies, and embrace of authoritarian dictators, but here we are.”

Bash and Tapper worked as enablers and amplifiers of Trump’s shameless lying.

The fact that it keeps on happening, over and over again, means that the corporate media wants it to happen. 

The warp speed rush to judgment over this debate exemplifies what is wrong with our media and our politics. Biden’s words made sense. Trump’s were non-stop lies, fantasies, and defamation.

Btw, the debate provided endless possible video bytes for Biden to use in adds.

Brian Tyler Cohen seems to be one of the first media personalities to have understood what actually went on this debate.

And, yes, Biden took a while to hit his stride. But when he did, he was devastating. His seething outrage at Trump’s vileness was a model of economical, understated, righteous fury.

It’s always interesting how the corporate media treats politics mostly as entertainment and theatrics and yet it has so little insight into the art of performance.

Jamison Foser is rightfully horrified at their journalistic malfeasance.

“The New York Times ran a debate preview today — sorry, a “Scouting Report” (I swear I did not make that up either) — that described Trump as “an offensive powerhouse” who will “seize the spotlight at every opportunity, bulldozing anyone on the stage. Nah I’m not linking it, that only encourages them. You can find it if you don’t believe me. Two days ago the Times, apparently feeling guilty about not having run a “OMG Joe Biden Is Old” story in more than 30 minutes, ran yet another piece on the topic, this one by their art critic. Once again: Not making this up.”

What happens, I wonder, to a Times critic/reporter who doesn’t go along with the party line?

Headline is “Biden Struggles to Fend Off Trump’s Attacks,” when we all saw for ourselves how frequently Trump could not offer any defense when Biden confronted him with the truth. 

I don’t think the Times is going to survive this election intact. Either Biden wins in spite of their best efforts, and their credibility is irrevocably damaged, or Trump wins and he does everything in his power to shut them down.

The same drugged-up lies and bombast. He has not evolved a micrometer. He is a horrifying cartoon of a completely regressed personality.

The Fascist media led by Fox Propaganda, as well as the mainstream corporate media, will try to spin the debate as a win for Trump. There will be an instantaneous rush to snap judgment.

But notice how uncomfortable Trump looked as Biden figuratively hit him between the eyes with one home truth after another, until Trump was nodding in agreement as Biden identified him accurately as a convicted felon.

And when he got Trump dead to rights as a whiner, and Trump responded with his clown leer, who had the upper hand then?

for after Trump loses the election than they are with the actual election itself.