Monday Night Debate Ball

This is going to be one of those too-many-things-happening days.  Coach O speaks to the press at 12:30.

The Saints can vault into first place with a win against the Falcons tonight on prime time TV.

And then there's this thing where a press and public, who are by this point basically shellshocked into a kind of numb boredom, are expecting the Presidential candidates to somehow prove they can still entertain us.  It won't go well.

Especially considering the "advice" implied by this NYT collection of Bush-Gore memory blurbs.  That advice: OMG, don't be caught sighing on camera.

Shrum I didn’t think Gore’s sighs were a really big deal until I got to the spin room. Reporters kept asking about sighs, reactions, exaggerations.

Eskew I have a feeling that where we lost the debate was afterwards. The Bush people sensed vulnerability and legitimately took advantage of some of Gore’s performance flaws. And why not? You can win on policy, but not win overall if you wound yourself.

Not sure how to take "if you wound yourself" when the bored reporters were clearly wielding the knives. Those of old enough to remember the early Bush era, might know it as a nadir of political journalism leading directly to a series of escalating atrocities from the election of W up through the debacle in Iraq and the aftermath of which we'll continue to reap for a hundred years.

What have they learned from all that? Nothing, apparently.  I wonder if the Democratic candidate has learned anything, though.  Here's where her predecessor in this case study really blew it.

Shrum The second debate was a tremendous overcorrection by Gore. He kept agreeing with Bush, and Bush just clearly won.

This year's candidate sure has spent a lot of time on the campaign trail agreeing with and being endorsed by George Bush types.

Anyway don't expect anything to go too far off-script in the debate tonight. If you think this election can't get any more frustratingly dismal than it's already been, you haven't been paying attention. Even if something interesting happens, I'm sure the reporters will snap into high campaign mode and fixate on some superficiality for us.  On the other hand, maybe Trump will moon the camera or something. But it's hard to imagine how that would be much different from what he's given us all year.

As for me, I'm going to the Saints game. But don't be tweeting debate spoilers at me. I'll want to watch later. You know, just in case.