I'm as frustrated with the presidential debate on Tuesday night as anyone -- though not, perhaps for the same reasons that other conservatives are.
I never expected Trump do destroy her. Here's what I said on Sunday:
"Based on past debates, I think she will do fine. She has considerable presence onstage, and will come across as officious and dignified. She has no doubt been practicing her talking points and will deliver them. So I don't foresee collapse."
What I had been telling Trump to do (indirectly, and publicly) is to ignore her and speak directly to his voters. Don't try to "win"; understand that there is no winning these things anymore. Just use the platform to reach your base.
He didn't do that. He tried to win, and he got pummeled by the moderators and outrun by Harris, who evaded every important question -- are you better off than you were four years ago? when is it too late to have an abortion? etc.
There won't be another debate because Harris did the best she could by looking strong. She probably didn't sway any voters in the middle -- and she isn't trying to do so. She's just trying to fire up her own base, and ABC helped her do it.
(Once again, as I've been saying: you can get mad over media bias, and it's important to document it, but just remember that the media are doing their job -- which is not to tell the truth but to turn out the Democratic voter base.)
So -- what next? I think Trump scored some important points on the economy and so on, but he's never going to have another opportunity to address America as a whole. He has to fire up his own supporters, and many are demoralized.
What's next, therefore, is this: if you want Trump to win -- and many of us need Trump to win, because we have our lives literally on the line -- then you, and we, are going to have to push him across the finish line ourselves, regardless.
He's amazing -- he stood up with his fist raised when he was shot in the head. That's an example for us to follow -- but it's not something one individual can sustain, on his own, forever. It's time to act, to inspire, to encourage, to vote.
President James Madison comes to mind. Madison is my favorite Founding Father because of the way he sat at a desk for months, studying, before creating the architecture of our Constitution. As a writer, I just love that.
But he was a poor president (though Dolly Madison remains the best First Lady, in my opinion). Madison led the U.S. into the War of 1812 against Britain, which may have been inevitable but was also foolishly begun, and nearly lost.
He won -- and the country survived -- largely because Americans like Andrew Jackson, and his volunteers, stepped up to fight, and did so in ways that the British never anticipated. Madison's presidency was saved by his countrymen.
And so -- if you want Trump to win, or need Trump to win (and I think we need it more than Democrats need Kamala to win), then you can't just wait for him to do it for you. You have to make it happen -- whatever you think that means.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
