Khan

BTW, are Elizabeth Levin and David Cherrill still the HW's at this point? Who are their associate writers?

Yup, it's them. Richard Shoberg and Karen Morris-Gowdy, giving perhaps the WORST performances of their careers.

Correction: Americans aren't into vetting WHITE MEN that well. But, let it be a woman or person of color, and, by God, they won't rest 'til they have uncovered every last speck of dirt! Between Russia's continued meddling and Mark Zuckerberg's allowing the far-right to continue spreading their filth all over Facebook, I'm truly at a loss to explain how Trump WON'T be re-elected in November. As @marceline would say, we didn't learn a damn thing from 2016.

LOL! America wouldn't be the beacon of liberty and justice that it is today if not for the backroom deal.

That's certainly the impression I received from last night's debate. I realize this is make-or-break time for several candidates. However, as I've said or alluded to before, I feel they went the wrong way about it. Instead of focusing on what counts in this election -- uniting the party, defeating Donald Trump, offering a saner alternative to his administration's atrocious policies -- they turned their proverbial guns on each other. It was almost as if the election has already been decided, and all that was left to do was toss around the blame (for the Democrats' defeat). The candidates' actions last night on the debating stage made them look petulant and messy as hell and did little in the way of inspiring confidence on the part of voters who remain anxious about the next several months and beyond. Even worse, because everyone was so focused on nailing to the wall Michael Bloomberg, who was poised to be a spoiler of sorts for Bernie Sanders' campaign, I think Sanders actually walked away last night looking stronger than he did going in! For those who don't want Sanders to become the standard-bearer for the Democratic Party, last night's debate was the very last thing they needed to see.

Here's the latest from #NaturalCauses2020: https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-repeatedly-struggles-pronounce-words-114933053.html Same. Nevertheless, because Bernie Sanders and his followers encourage so much toxicity, I'm leaning toward not checking that part of my ballot or writing in another candidate come November. As much as I want Donald Trump gone, at the same time, we can't supplant one demagogue with another. That's not going to save our republic.

If it's true that Michael Bloomberg's only running to stop Bernie Sanders from becoming the nominee, then he needed to do a much better job of convincing voters why he would be the better alternative. At the very least, he needed to stay in the race long enough to gather enough delegates, if not to win the nomination for himself, then to help Joe Biden or another candidate win it. But now? Now, I'm questioning whether his campaign can make it to the end of this week! (In retrospect, his strategy of bypassing the early primaries might not have been the smartest.)

And like THAT, the Bloomberg Express derails. As Donald Trump would say, "Sad." And there is nothing sadder or more surreal in this world than getting owned by Donald Trump. Frankly, I think all the onstage jousting 1) was pure theatrics ("Vegas, baby!") and 2) will end up doing more harm than good. We've already seen Mike Bloomberg's campaign implode, but if Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar's respective campaigns survive past this debate, it'll be a miracle. (No doubt, people on both sides are probably crying "Temperamental!" and "Unladylike!" even as I finish this sentence.). Pete Buttigieg never looked more like the little boy sitting at the grown' folks table than he did tonight. IJS. Indeed. Thanks to their competitors' performances, the race to the nomination has likely pivoted back to them.

Well, the word on the street is, Michael Bloomberg had his you-know-what handed to him tonight.

If you were to compare Bernie Sanders to anyone, it'd be our current president, who's guarding his tax returns like OLTL's Victor Lord guarded his secret room.

😮

Running as a Democratic candidate for president is the Ice Bucket Challenge of 2020.

My rankings (as of this moment) are as follows: 1. Michael Bloomberg 2. Joe Biden 3. Elizabeth Warren 4. Amy Klobuchar 5. Tom Hanks 6. RuPaul 7. "Handsome Dan," the official (bulldog) mascot of Yale University's athletic teams 8. Abby Cadabby (from "Sesame Street") 9. John Hinckley, Jr. 10. A "Big Brother" contestant TBD 11. Pete Buttigieg('s personal stylist) 12. Bernie Sanders I can just imagine the Hinckley/Trump debates... T: I could stand in the middle of the street, shoot somebody and get away with it! H: Been there, done that, Jodie Foster still won't return my phone calls!

ICAM. The Democratic Party takes all POC entirely for granted.

So, Michael Bloomberg has qualified to participate in tomorrow (Wednesday) night's Democratic debate in Las Vegas. This could be a real game-changer (for Bloomberg's campaign, as well as for the Democrats) or a real trainwreck. Either way, it's bound to make for some good television! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/us/politics/bloomberg-debate-poll-numbers.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Unfortunately, that was also the moment when the mainstream media stopped caring about the Daytime Emmys.

Oh. Oh my Lord. I didn't even catch that. My Gawd, some of us have no business even voting, lol.

Who? John McCain?

It's a dirty job, but somebody had to do it. But seriously. I agree with @DRW50. That was a powerful ad. Say what you will about Mike Bloomberg and his vanity campaign, but his ads on the internet, radio, social media and TV have been on point. Come November, we HAVE to defeat Donald Trump. Period. Mike Bloomberg's apology for his stop-and-frisk policy (which wasn't his policy, by the way; it was actually Rudy Giuliani's, but whatever) might have been feeble, but at least it WAS an apology. Meanwhile, it's been how many years? And Donald Trump still won't apologize for the ad he took out against the Central Park Five OR for his and his father's racist housing policies back in the '70's. (Like I said, I'm willing to play the "What About...?" Game in this instance.) We finally have a candidate in the Democratic Party whose well-oiled, well-monied political machine can match the GOP's, and this is the thanks we get. SMH.

I feel this'll end with Pete Buttigieg eating collard greens and playing the Dozens with Rev. Al Sharpton.

Pete Buttigieg will do just about anything to get Black people to like him. And so is his sham of a marriage. Yes, I said it.

Agree. Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg do stand the best chances of winning the "Black vote," both in the primaries, and in the election. After them? Maybe Elizabeth Warren, followed by Bernie Sanders. Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, on the other hand? Well, thanks for playing, and enjoy the year's supply of Rice-a-Roni! (No offense, @marceline.)

Great. Just what I needed. Another reason for my type 2 diabetic mother to defend Donald Trump.

The difference, though, is that the GOP eventually rallied around Donald Trump, if only because they felt intimidated by his base supporters. Would the centrists and moderates feel the same way about Bernie Sanders's supporters and other progressives? That, as they say, is the $64,000 question. Agree. The Democratic Party just didn't play its' proverbial cards right.

Of course, I can't tell you NOT to vote. As a citizen of this country, you have the right to vote or NOT vote as you see fit. However, speaking as one who didn't vote four years ago and has felt nothing but guilt and shame since, I believe you, and I, and everyone else who lives here in these United States would be much better off if you did. If you don't wish to vote for whoever the Democratic candidate turns out to be -- again, that's perfectly fine, and well within your rights. You could vote for a third party candidate instead, or even write in another, outside candidate, if you're allowed to. But, again, I URGE you to think twice before sitting out in November. Again, take it from me. I sat out; and maybe my one vote from Oklahoma wouldn't have made any difference in the long run. Maybe we'd still be where we are now. (Well, no "maybe" about it, the outcome would be the same). But, at least I'd feel better at nights, knowing that my voice was heard nevertheless; and that I did MY part to keep alive what might be the very thing that prevents this republic of ours from disappearing altogether. Just my own thoughts. Take 'em for whatever you think they're worth, lol.