FLASH
Shkruar nga Daniel Serwer
She was loving and hopeful. He was menacing and hopeless.
Last night's presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris lived up to expectations. A bad-tempered Trump lied, ranted and indulged in conspiracy theories. A simultaneously amused and confused Harris projected herself as an agent of change and optimism. She was loving and hopeful. He was menacing and hopeless. That's what really matters. Politics doesn't count, but it's still worth considering
-Economy: Harris advantage
On the economy, Trump promises slightly more high tariffs on everything, which a president can impose without congressional approval, and an extension of tax cuts passed in 2017 for the (very) wealthy. Neither proposition should appeal to 90% of Americans. He continues to insist that other countries will pay the tariffs, but also raise prices whenever they can to recoup whatever they pay. In addition, they will retaliate against US exports. So MAGA means higher prices and loss of market share abroad.
Harris is pushing for tax breaks for small businesses, families and home builders. Not all of his proposals make sense, and he hasn't said how he will pay for them. But her proposals address what concerns most Americans. Everything she wants will have to pass Congress, which means she has at least one chance to get it right. Even if Democrats were to gain control of both chambers, it would be difficult to hold together a majority on proposals that don't make sense.
Immigration: advantage Harris
This is Trump's strong suit, but he played his hand weak. He repeatedly claimed that immigrants are increasing the crime rate in the US. He even claimed that crime is down in Venezuela and other countries because all the criminals are being sent to the US. Harris did not respond forcefully on these points. I think she was careful to protect immigration. But crime is down in the US and not in Venezuela and other immigrant-exporting countries.
Harris struck a strong note with her response. She rightly claimed that Trump had blocked a bipartisan immigration bill that would have significantly increased the number of agents at the border. She didn't say what many of us know: America needs immigrants. The labor market is tight and immigrants are prolific entrepreneurs who have found a large number of new and small companies.
Foreign policy: the Harris advantage
Trump claimed that he made NATO countries go ahead and that the world loves him. But America's allies have increased military spending at least as fast under Biden. Trump repeated his claim that he would end the Ukraine war through negotiations before taking office. The only way he can do that is by signaling a lack of support for Ukraine. Trump was only able to cite Hungary's would-be dictator Viktor Orban as a leader he admires. Of course Putin, Xi and Kim are also in that camp, but they are even less in Trump's honor.
Harris cited Trump's love affairs with those miscreants, as well as the Taliban, as evidence of his failure to connect the US with its Democratic friends and allies. More importantly, he failed to get anything of value from his horrible friends. Harris was effective in countering Trump's criticism of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which he had negotiated before Biden won the 2020 election.
I expect the polls to show a significant jump for Harris in the next couple of weeks. She showed in the debate a demeanor, temperament and acumen that contrasted sharply with Trump's. He looked and played the part of a tired president. His ideas, as far as he had them, were stale. Taylor Swift has got it right. Kamala Harris will be the next president. This will give Republicans time to end their romance with a crooked man./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Peacfare"
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