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Off Topic Thread 4.0

Zzippy

Thread continued from here

The usual rules apply. Non-rugby talk here. Consider this a social place, but like a pub, things like religion and politics can be divisive, so don't say things here you wouldn't say to someone's face in the pub. Sober

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Buer

Podge_irl wrote: »

Don't agree with Trump cruising it mind you. He didn't cruise it last time and I don't understand how anyone could see him doing better. Whatever you want to say about Biden, and there are many issues, his negatives are nowhere near as bad as Clintons were. He might eek it out again, but that's about it.

I don't think it's going to be about the negatives so much as Biden will be shown up to be physically/mentally unfit for the position by a more brash and outspoken candidate who is completely at home when attacking others. Trump is obviously unfit for it too but he'll easily bludgeon his way through any attempt by Biden to highlight that.

I don't think Biden possesses the mental sharpness any longer to expose Trump. Sanders has it but that race is run and a huge chunk of the electorate would never vote for him on principal (or lack thereof).

Dog Botherer

the problem with Biden is that he isn’t substantially better than Trump and as a result inspires record low levels of enthusiasm. he’s almost completely senile at this point too so i don’t really see that changing in any way. Trump is just gonna call him Sleepy/Senile/Rapey Joe and crush him.

incredibly worried about the political situation here now. genuinely thought Bernie winning was the only way to stop almost inevitable social unrest, and the coronavirus has only exacerbated major societal issues.

Neil3030

The expectation of Biden's performance in the Presidential debates is already so low that as long as he doesn't soil himself it'll be considered a victory.

Podge_irl

Buer wrote: »

David McWilliams has an interesting take on left and right wing political ideologies. The right will seek out common ground to see what unifies them and people will vote for the common views they identify e.g. many people might think Trump is an idiot but they fully support his stance on immigration and will vote for him on that one item. The left is the opposite. They seek out the differences between themselves and ostracise those they see as not ticking certain boxes for them. It often leads to multiple factions and splits where there's a dilution of power/support and candidates become unelectable.

Not sure I would portray it as the right finding "common ground" so much as them having an ability to coalesce to fight the greater enemy when the time comes. I think a lot of "the right" would vote for someone they truly despised as long as it wasn't a democrat, whereas the left are much more likely to just stay home in that scenario.

Don't agree with Trump cruising it mind you. He didn't cruise it last time and I don't understand how anyone could see him doing better. Whatever you want to say about Biden, and there are many issues, his negatives are nowhere near as bad as Clintons were. He might eek it out again, but that's about it.

Bazzo

No third candidate will ever win, the most they could do is split the democratic vote and make things even easier for trump. I don't think it's exactly a cake walk for trump, the margin he won by in 2016 was miniscule, the fact that there's any hope for him at all is ludicrous.

pickarooney

Is there no Ross Perot type that could just hop in and run as a third candidate?

Buer

Eod100 wrote: »

Remember Trump's quote about shooting people on 5th Avenue in NY and still being reelected? With all the preventable deaths in US in NY and elsewhere, if people still vote for Trump in November it will be even more depressing than last time out. I really wouldn't have confidence in Biden, he seems to be struggling a lot lately. I think Trump will make mincemeat of him, negative campaigning etc

Trump will cruise past him, I'd guess. Biden has already shown in the primary debates that his ability to argue coherently is reduced and I'd question his mental sharpness at this point relative to where it was. He spend 2-3 years out of the game. The election is going to be just short of his 78th birthday and, at that age, the mental faculties can diminish significantly in a couple of years.

Biden will be 78 if sworn in. That's 8 years older than the next oldest POTUS in history (Trump). I can see that being a very easily exposed angle for the Trump campaign to work.

Trump doesn't need to be articulate and sharp which gives him a pass for his age. That's not his angle and never has been. All he needs to do is shout slogans whilst abusing his opponent and his support will lap it up.

EDIT: With all that said, I think the attitude of many Sanders' supporters is infantile and ridiculous. The fact that a chiunk of them will happily sit back and let Trump walk to another 4 years rather than put a massively better candidate in place reflects very poorly on them. It's real toys out of the pram stuff.

David McWilliams has an interesting take on left and right wing political ideologies. The right will seek out common ground to see what unifies them and people will vote for the common views they identify e.g. many people might think Trump is an idiot but they fully support his stance on immigration and will vote for him on that one item. The left is the opposite. They seek out the differences between themselves and ostracise those they see as not ticking certain boxes for them. It often leads to multiple factions and splits where there's a dilution of power/support and candidates become unelectable.

Panda Killa

mfceiling wrote: »

So I managed to get into my local tesco this morning at 9.30 without any queueing whatsoever.

However as I was walking around an older man (60 - 70??) came past me and, I can't really think of any other way of putting this....he was wearing a ladies product as a mask. It was adhesive and wasn't attached with string etc. Just stuck across his mouth.

He must have looked a right c*nt .....

mfceiling

So I managed to get into my local tesco this morning at 9.30 without any queueing whatsoever.

However as I was walking around, an older man (60 - 70??) came past me and, I can't really think of any other way of putting this....he was wearing a ladies product as a mask. It was adhesive and wasn't attached with string etc. Just stuck across his mouth.

CatFromHue

It is quite amazing as Obama, Bush Junior, and Clinton are all younger than Trump and Biden.

Just barely in Bush and Clinton's case but still.

pickarooney

Is there any reason that everyone involved in the race for one of the most important jobs in the world is well past retirement age? These guys wouldn't be allowed out to go shopping in Ireland but they all want a go at ruling the world.

Eod100

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Bernie dropped out of the race.

Trump vs Biden. Definitely going to be another 4 years.

Remember Trump's quote about shooting people on 5th Avenue in NY and still being reelected? With all the preventable deaths in US in NY and elsewhere, if people still vote for Trump in November it will be even more depressing than last time out. I really wouldn't have confidence in Biden, he seems to be struggling a lot lately. I think Trump will make mincemeat of him, negative campaigning etc

Podge_irl

Deleted User wrote: »

US system is so bad. If you are in state that hasn't voted yet, your only choice is Biden. How is that democracy.

Primaries are a bloody weird system anyway. I've never entirely understood why people "at large" should have a say in who the candidate is anyway. The primaries are in no way a fundamental part of democracy.

pickarooney

Buer wrote: »

Indeed. As I posted before, he's getting an incredible amount of publicity and coverage at the moment in a time where any other candidate isn't able to make public appearances. The leader during any major national crisis sees a bump in their approval.

He could bring a gun to a press conference and threaten a journalist with it. It would not damage his approval rating.

The Democratic candidate is just a crash test dummy. The election is Trump Vs not-Trump and the voting split between the mental defectives who'll vote for him and the rest who won't. The only possible difference is in the number of apathetic Americans who may have bothered voting for Sanders but now won't vote at all.

[Deleted User]

US system is so bad. If you are in state that hasn't voted yet, your only choice is Biden. How is that democracy.

Squidgy Black

Buer wrote: »

He wasn't left with much choice after the Super Tuesdays. He was comprehensively beaten. With the best will in the world, he could not make up the shortfall of over 300 delegates with the biggest states already done.

The issue is that his support are so entrenched in supporting him, a portion of them would happily sit back and allow Trump be elected than support Biden. It's Sanders or nothing in their mind.

It's curious given that Biden was a darling of social media 2 years ago with people calling for him to run. Reddit was inundated with Biden memes.

I think it's the same situation as Clinton etc. Once they enter the race all of the social media posts start trying to unearth and point out things about them and the tide turns fast.

Panda Killa

It's unbelievable..in a previous life, I lived & worked in Louisiana ....the absolute belief and pig headed trust in Trump just beggars belief...

Buer

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Bernie dropped out of the race.

Trump vs Biden. Definitely going to be another 4 years.

He wasn't left with much choice after the Super Tuesdays. He was comprehensively beaten. With the best will in the world, he could not make up the shortfall of over 300 delegates with the biggest states already done.

The issue is that his support are so entrenched in supporting him, a portion of them would happily sit back and allow Trump be elected than support Biden. It's Sanders or nothing in their mind.

It's curious given that Biden was a darling of social media 2 years ago with people calling for him to run. Reddit was inundated with Biden memes.

Bazzo

It's genuinely disturbing that it seems a very real danger that he'll be re-elected. The only honour he deserves is being the first human to be fired from a cannon into the sun, the absolute worst of us.

I was wondering why he'd randomly decided to sack another staffer on Friday. Turns out he was the watchdog for the distribution of the 2 trillion bailout package.

Buer

errlloyd wrote: »

Being popular during a crisis is actually relatively easy.

"We're going to win"
"Aren't our frontline staff brave"
"We're giving everyone millions of euro"

We're seeing largely the same thing here - although I am beginning to suspect our government are actually making the correct decisions right now!

Indeed. As I posted before, he's getting an incredible amount of publicity and coverage at the moment in a time where any other candidate isn't able to make public appearances. The leader during any major national crisis sees a bump in their approval.

He could bring a gun to a press conference and threaten a journalist with it. It would not damage his approval rating.

sydthebeat

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Bernie dropped out of the race.

Trump vs Biden. Definitely going to be another 4 years.

bidens odds slightly shorthened at this news... from 5/4 to evens (trump at 10/11)

if he can keep that small middle ground voter on his side, as well as bringing the bernie fan along... he may have a chance

Squidgy Black

Bernie dropped out of the race.

Trump vs Biden. Definitely going to be another 4 years.

errlloyd

Being popular during a crisis is actually relatively easy.

"We're going to win"
"Aren't our frontline staff brave"
"We're giving everyone millions of euro"

We're seeing largely the same thing here - although I am beginning to suspect our government are actually making the correct decisions right now!

Neil3030

stephen_n wrote: »

And he enjoys his best ratings ever as President. You get the politicians you deserve.

He's actually currently aggregated at 44.8% approval, down from 47.8% when he came into office.

You also need to look at that in context. All leaders get a bump during a crisis - e.g., Bush Jr got a 30% jump on 9/11, to a staggering 88.1% approval.

By contrast, Trump's jump was tiny; ~3% improvement since the outbreak of Covid, depending on when you start the clock. He also seems to have peaked a few days ago (45.8%) and is now on the decline.

Time will tell how much appetite the U.S. public have for name-calling and tantrums once they take the lead on the body count.

stephen_n

Deleted User wrote: »

At what point do things kick off?

The news headlines are getting quite dramatic now.

Wisconsin. The Navy. Bailout Oversight. Insider trading.

And that's all on top of their covid-19 response and the increasing number of severe scandals associated with it.

Meanwhile people are stuck in their homes having to watch in horror as this unfolds.

Tinder box.

And he enjoys his best ratings ever as President. You get the politicians you deserve.

Burkie1203

Staggering. A dozen or more public transport staff in London have died to date.

https://twitter.com/jonworth/status/1247624846680510465?s=19

pickarooney

Tinder box - swipe until you find what looks like a suitable opponent and if you match head down to the gym and punch the head off one another.

I could see it working.

[Deleted User]

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

And has removed any oversight on the two trillion dollar funding for the Coronavirus bill.

Will Americans do anything about the GOP and their naked corruption? Will they ****e.

I wrote America off long ago, but sometimes the sheer barefaced cheek of now out in the open corruption there still surprises me.

At what point do things kick off?

The news headlines are getting quite dramatic now.

Wisconsin. The Navy. Bailout Oversight. Insider trading.

And that's all on top of their covid-19 response and the increasing number of severe scandals associated with it.

Meanwhile people are stuck in their homes having to watch in horror as this unfolds.

Tinder box.

[Deleted User]

Stheno wrote: »

Are you wfh?

I'd be concerned that she could get it and be asymptomatic, pass it to you and so on

It's a ****ty time for everyone I can understand she's going crazy but it's likely this will go on for some time

Yeah I wfh

Buer

jacothelad wrote: »

That was confirmed on BBC this afternoon.

I didn't see if confirmed but I think almost every British media outlet suggested it as a likely scenario at some point today. Not a ventilator but certainly receiving respiratory support.