When you resort to attacking the messenger and not the message, you have lost the debate. – Addison Whithecomb

Today’s independent commentary deals with these people/issues:

• The Presidential Debate
• Marc Racicot
• Montana Mail Ballot Rules

THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE:

Who do you think won the Presidential Debate? Click HERE to vote.

I hate to use this word, but the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden was nothing but a shitshow.

Why? President Donald Trump started interrupting former Vice President Joe Biden in the first few minutes. The debate moderator, Chris Wallace, could not stop it. All three talked over each other during 90% of the debate.

Reuters reported that moderator Chris Wallace never established control of the debate. At one time, Biden asked Trump, “Will you shut up, man?”

It was like Trump was on speed.

Biden said, “It’s hard to get a word in with this clown.”

Nonetheless, it was a sad day in American politics. Wallace lost all control. He did a terrible job. It was so bad, that I think it might be time to end the debates unless The Commission on Presidential Debates makes some major changes before the next one (Oct. 15). The Commission should ensure the person not answering a question has their microphone turned off, so they cannot interrupt.

If they can’t make at least this minor change, then they should stop the debates.

The Associated Press reported:

The first debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden deteriorated into bitter taunts and near chaos Tuesday night as Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent with angry — and personal — jabs that sometimes overshadowed the sharply different visions each man has for a nation facing historic crises.

One of the key moments in the debate as reported by the AP:

In the most tumultuous presidential debate in recent memory, Trump refused to condemn white supremacists who have supported him, telling one such group known as Proud Boys to “stand back, stand by.”

I’ve believed for a long time that Trump is racist and many people who support him are racists, too. I think his refusal to condemn white supremacists bolsters that belief.

With Trump on the offensive from the beginning, I think it bothered or maybe shocked Biden that a President could act like such an asshole. After about 20 minutes, Biden seemed to get his footing and started scoring:

“The fact is that everything he’s saying so far is simply a lie,” Biden said. “I’m not here to call out his lies. Everybody knows he’s a liar.”

In my opinion, Trump’s best response came when he defended picking a Supreme Court Justice this close to a presidential election to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Trump said, “I was not elected for three years, I’m elected for four years.” He then added, “We won the election. Elections have consequences. We have the Senate. We have the White House and we have a phenomenal nominee, respected by all.”

That was early in the debate and it went downhill from there for Trump.

They did talk about Trump’s taxes. Reuters reported the exchange:

Trump didn’t mince words when Wallace asked him what he paid in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, after the New York Times reported that his tax returns showed only a $750 payment in each year.

Offering no evidence, Trump said he had paid, “millions of dollars. And you’ll get to see it,” despite his refusal to release any returns since he became a candidate in 2015, breaking with decades of tradition.

“Show us your tax returns,” Biden interjected.

Trump attempted to walk a fine line, claiming he owed a hefty tax bill while also defending his efforts to pay as little taxes as possible – and blaming Biden and former President Barack Obama for helping him to do so via the tax code.

Overall, I think Biden was the calm one and he scored points. He seemed more presidential. The failure of Trump to condemn white supremacy was a big mistake and is probably already being made into a commercial.

Throughout the debate, Trump seemed more like Colonel Walter E. Kurtz from the 1979 war movie, Apocalypse Now.

One memorable line from the movie is Kurtz saying, “The horror… the horror…”

That’s what most Americans were probably saying after watching this debate.

Read the AP report HERE. Read the Reuters report HERE.

MARC RACICOT:

Lee Newspapers reported Tuesday evening that former Montana governor and Republican National Committee Chair Marc Racicot said he would not vote for President Donald Trump citing Trump’s character as fault enough to vote for Democrat challenger Joe Biden on Nov. 3.

Good for him. I hope that Racicot’s friend, George W. Bush, follows in his footsteps and publicly announces he is voting for Biden. That would help Biden immensely.

Read the rest of the story from Lee Newspapers HERE.

MONTANA MAIL BALLOT RULES:

Just as I predicted, the Montana Supreme Court late Tuesday resolved two questions about mailed ballots for the Nov. 3 election in the state, ruling that ballots must be received by 8 p.m. Election Day to be counted and throwing out a law that restricted who can turn in ballots in-person. (MTN News)

Please note that this is the Montana Supreme Court making the decision and not the U.S. Supreme Court. The Montana Supreme Court has actual politicians as justices. They raise money and run for election and reelection. Yes, it’s crazy.

I predicted the returning of ballots a few days after the election as long as they are postmarked no later than Election Day would be overturned.

I agree with the court’s decision to throw out a law that restricted who can turn in ballots in-person. I just wish we could throw out the clowns in the legislature who came up with a silly idea.

## VOTE ##