Calling it for Harris:
Leona Wallis writes: I thought Harris was excellent. Trump was the same as he always is — big on hyperbole, short on content. He is a buffoon. Interesting that the only leaders he admires are dictators.
Kathy Heyne writes: If I’d been born an American, I’d be one of the working poor — no ifs, buts or maybes — and I’d be angry. Nothing Harris said would have swayed me to believe she intends to do much about it. Yes, she won the debate, but time will tell if she won any lower income, working class swing voters. I’d be surprised if she did.
Sidney R writes: Can the American electorate countenance a possible leader who, without evidence, accuses people of munching on cats and dogs? How crass.
Andrew Bonnell writes: Taylor Swift has now spoken!
Calling it for Trump:
Mark F writes: We non-Americans should focus on what this all means for the rest of the world. Harris will mean more of the same, foreign programs-wise, and possibly worse. Continue the current proxy war and maybe add more. Full support of this round of the Israel war. More anti-China goading, rhetoric and outright lies. Back here, more military bases, submarine extortion and full resistance to US multinationals paying tax and royalties.
Trump would be quite similar but resistant to new wars. The only war he wants is a trade war, which the US won’t win. For this reason alone, and it’s only a dismal hope, he’s a safer bet than Harris.
Yes, Trump is a buffoon, crook, fool and all the rest. But he’s a symptom only, not the problem itself. The rot started with Reagan.
Calling in despair:
Frank Dee writes: Speaking as someone poor (rents, on a pension, eating a lot of rice) I would say that many of the “left” are too comfortable, not too rich. There are very few rich lefties. Comfort breeds complacency; a reluctance to see, to share, and to act.
I don’t blame the MAGAs for their anger. They’ve been screwed by both sides, they’ve lost their houses and their jobs, and they’ve seen the people responsible being bailed out in order to save the American economy. Yep, it would be brilliant to fix the disparity between rich and poor, but apart from possibly Bernie Sanders, no-one seems interested.
America is a complex culture and many of its poor are not interested in either socialism or a redistribution of assets due to some weird notion that they might become rich themselves one day.
Nick Thurn writes: There [are] plenty of progressives not in the Macron-Starmer-Obama-Clinton-Albanese-Biden bucket. Trouble is, who can you vote for when the only chance of keeping out the neo-fascists is voting for one of these “do nothing” centrists?
There certainly seems to be a well-funded, well-coordinated program across the Anglosphere to keep anyone remotely left of centre out of power. It can’t all be factional wanking by internal powerbrokers, even if that’s how Guy Rundle regularly explains it.
No wonder half the population seem ready to embrace anyone promising understandable, decisive change of any form — right up to “burn it all down” — because otherwise nothing changes.
Doug Fraser writes: Well, if you believe Rundle, it’s all too late, there’s nothing constructive anyone can do about it, so time to find a nice beach, get in a good supply of bubbly and weed, ask all your exes to come and join you, and all lie back and enjoy the spectacle of the end of the world.
And it would seem that all the old codgers with silly pseudonyms who regularly write in to Crikey share that view. Mutter, mutter, “told you so didn’t I, it’s all been a scam, they’re all wankers. Bourgeois wankers. We should have had the Dictatorship of the Proletariat back in 1976 when I was still young enough to help administer it…”
In any case, if I were looking for advice on how to be a political success, I don’t think I’d be asking Guy. I was young enough to help administer it.
Guy H writes: Firstly, most voters don’t watch the debate, but many see clips. Trump’s team will clip to make him look like a fighter. Harris’ team will clip to make her strong case on abortion. Everyone will see what they want to see. So it won’t make a difference.
Trump is hardly going to lose votes at this point by being Trump. That is, as they say, priced in. Especially because he has managed over the past four years to be something I don’t think the US has had before: a leader of the opposition. I don’t think any politician not holding any office has ever had such massive coverage (and free spreading of his ideas). Media outlets need to think about this, whatever happens in this election. On what basis are they platforming these people? They are doing it now with Elon Musk, his every word dutifully reported.
As ever, it will be a turn out election rather than an election of ideas. The impact of the Swift intervention will be interesting to see. But the character, policies and history of Harris or Trump apart, I cannot see America electing a female president. Won’t happen.
