Vee

I think it's also important to credit media people when they do well. I think David Muir and Linsey Davis were very good last night as moderators. And I think most of the analysis on the major networks and the major papers refreshingly did not equivocate: They were very clear on who won and why. I don't lose sight of what Beltway media is as a larger organism, but I don't think each journalist or commentator is created equal or unequal. MSNBC is a for-profit network which deals with its own issues and mandates, but a lot of their on-air people (like Joy Reid, like Symone Sanders-Townsend, like Maddow, O'Donnell and more) still do not want Trump to win. We can say the same for other people at CNN, NBC, ABC, etc. You never let your guard down in critiquing media, but you allow for a changing situation and nuanced individuals. The other key is this: Corporate media worships power and hates a loser. They saw power last night and then they saw a loser, and power is what they gravitated to.

LOL:

It's not gonna stick for anyone who just doesn't want to vote for her. And I'm sorry, but there is no one coming out of last night in media claiming Harris failed, including the Times and Fox News. It was a rout. Jeremy Peters recycling 'undecideds' is all they have left. We can know the media puts the thumb on the scale and still admit that they have ceded to that reality from last night.

Typically for Jeremy Peters, this has already been debunked.

I never doubted she would perform well, but it's just different for any politician when having to deal with something like Trump live and that's why I tried to ground my expectations. She had a lot to do beyond just holding her own, which would not suffice at this stage of the campaign. She had to continue to introduce and define herself for more voters (per the polling) while also knocking Trump down and hurting him, which is no mean feat. She managed to do it all and then some. Probably the best to ever take him on. I should've stuck with my earliest hunch.

I remember 9/11 well. My parents worked in downtown D.C., my mother very close to the Pentagon and I spent hours trying to get ahold of them and make sure they were alright. I'll never forget but I rarely choose to relive it except on my own terms. At this point I try to treat the date, not the event, as just another day when it rolls around. To that point, media reaction to the debate: Unlike most papers the Post strains to thread the needle (merely admitting Harris was 'fiery' and put Trump 'on the defensive'), but admits in the op-eds what happened: Even Glenn Kessler admits defeat:

Dionne Warwick gets the last word:

Politico admits it:

Credit to Collins for the above.

For those of y'all who didn't watch (but should!) this is what I mentioned above: He was shook from then on. The NYT:

They've appeared on maybe a stage or two. Not much else that I know of. Trump is of course already equivocating on a second debate, but the Walz/Vance one is scheduled.

Both moderators did well, but Davis was excellent.

I had a feeling it would go well from the beginning when she approached him to shake his hand and introduce herself. I can't remember anyone crossing to him like that before. That was a psychological move and you could see in his slowed down walk that he was rattled by it. They choreographed everything she did tonight beautifully. I had been excited about the debate, then nervous over the last weeks but still excited. But while I had considerable hopes even I didn't think she'd do this well. She demolished him. She beat him so bad Trump went down to the post-debate spin room himself!

Full Swift statement:

And now, the killing blow:

Jonathan Martin was pissed tonight on Twitter, will be even more pissed on TV soon, and I can't wait. And finally, some cope:

Even the Times knows:

Practically flawless.

Focus group: