Political Limbo Bar

We no longer have a bar the candidates must clear. What we now have is a limbo bar that is constantly being adjusted downward as at least one of the candidates tries to sink to the lowest denominator without burrowing beneath what the common person is willing to accept as a vision. MSNBC's Chris Mathews is one of the pundits helping to lower the bar to new depths by declaring Mike Pence the winner of the Vice Presidential debate. He wasn't as rude, Mathews said; he didn't interrupt as much, and he kept a calm Presidential demeanor. So I guess that means that if you can keep a straight face and calm demeanor while lying about almost everything and deflecting all questions about whether you agree with the policies of your running mate and the controversial comments made by your running mate you are acting Presidential. The sad thing is that Chris Mathews is not alone in his assessment. Indeed the most frequent criticism of Trump by the pundits is not that Trump is an ignorant dufus but that Trump seems to lack the ability to deflect questions that reveal he is an ignorant dufus when he tries to answer those questions.

It's the optics, the pundits tell us. In politics perception is everything. Maybe, but as perceptually challenged as the common man may be about all things political he can still see when someone is dodging the question and/or deflecting. Politicians are not bothered by the fact that they are not fooling anyone in this regard because their base supporters do not care, and their opponent is going to do the same thing. The calculation invariably comes down to whether the answer would be more harmful than the obvious deception. The problem in this instance, this debate is that Pence lied about statements he and his running mate made even though clips of him and his running mate making those statements are being shown so often that it is difficult to avoid them! This is an insult to anyone bright enough to be insulted. And in this regard I think most of the none Trump chumps will deem Mr. Kaine the winner. The odd thing is that it does not matter much. Vice Presidential debates rarely have an impact on the general election. If this debate poses any danger to Trump the danger stems from the fact that Pence's unwillingness to support Trump's policies and comments provide rich fodder for Hillary Clinton's anti-Trump ads.

Frankly, I think we should demand better from our politicians and our news casters.  I am sick of the brain pap.  I am sick of the obvious deceptions and I bet your are too.  We deserve and want the relevant facts!  The broadcasters can still sell soap and beer while performing the service of keeping us informed.