Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Let's face it, Kamala Harris won!


UPDATED Oct. 8, 10 a.m. with more details.

OPINION

Sen. Kamala Harris didn't have to come out and say to Vice President Mike Pence, "You're is a crock of sh*t," her facial expressions said it for her.

Harris and Pence held their Vice Presidential debate Tuesday evening at the University of Utah.  By general consensus, the Democratic nominee for Vice President won because -- really -- how can anyone defend the atrocious record of the Trump administration on almost any topic?

The economy? The military? Taxes? Health plans? Racism? Foreign Relations? Coronavirus? Really, Pence couldn't speak to any of these topics without uttering a lie  or inventing a fantasy world.

When Pence tried to interrupt Harris, she quickly reminded him, "Mr. Vice President, I am speaking!" with a smile and an expression that said, "Child, don't interrupt me!"

When Pence stated an obvious untruth, a look of incredulity from Harris on the split screen, said, "Are you kidding me?"

Harris had to strike the delicate balance between being an aggressive black women that turns off a certain segment of the viewership and being respectful without being a pushover.

Harris, like Biden in last week's debate with Donald Trump, played by the rules of the debate. Like I have said before, Republicans don't abide by the rules. Their only rule is win at any cost which could mean lying, cheating or speaking over your opponent, which was all employed by Pence.

Talking over, louder and longer than women is something men do a lot. Pence was no exception. Ignoring time limits, he continually spoke longer than the allotted 2 minutes and often ignored the question in order to repeat the GOP talking points. It got me yelling at the moderator to take control and enforce the time limit.

The debate was historic in that Harris, whose father is Jamaican and whose mother was Indian, is the first woman of color on a major party presidential ticket. Both of her parents immigrated to the U.S. for their education.

Although Pence kept talking over Harris and the moderator, who was also a woman, Harris' facial expressions said a lot, with a furrowed brow, a slight eye roll, a shaking of her head, a smile or a glare.








The debate was mostly civil compared to last week's fiasco when Trump ignored the debate rules and time limits. That appears to be the GOP strategy though because Pence employed the same tactic. It appeared that Pence had the most air time because of his constant interruptions and speaking over the time alloted. Attempts by the moderator to cut him off were completely ineffective and ignored.

Both candidates said what they wanted to say. Harris emphasized the poor leadership of the Trump-Pence administration and Pence relied on repeating the outright lies.

The U.S. relationship with China was a major topic, mostly centering around the economic impact of Trump's trade war resulting in loss of jobs in manufacturing and agriculture.

Most troubling perhaps, was Pence's refusal to denounce the violent tendencies of white supremacists, and dodging the question of a promise of a peaceful transition if Biden was to win the election.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this article is news laced with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions. 

No comments:

Post a Comment