I believe it was Chris Hayes I heard ask last night: Will Trump, in the debate next week, "be terrible or great"? All I recall from the guest's answer was what it should have been, which raced through my mind: Trump will do terribly, and his mushrooming base will say he did great. In a way, he will do great, because, utterly devoid of empirical knowledge or any rational policy prescriptions moving forward, he will shoot not so much from the hip (or "from the lip," as Politico frames it) as he will shoot from the gut. And that, above all else, is what the Republican base admires.
Meanwhile, Bush is up to his usual misapprehension of What in hell is going on. "After a week mostly away from the campaign trail," reports Politico, "Jeb Bush will hunker down with top advisers for what aides described as 'intense debate preparation' starting this weekend in Miami." It's reported as well that Bush is "paring down his deep policy knowledge [irony unintended] into sharper, cleaner responses that fit the first debate’s 90-second time limit." Kinda sad.
An anonymous debate coach says this of the 10 participants (OK, nine):
They’ll be thinking about strategy, how they want to handle the debate, what their message will be, how they’re going to handle other candidates onstage — and then they’re going to think about how they can create an instance in the debate where they get the attention of the audience. They’ll be thinking about their one-liners and their 'sayables' — phrases they can use that are going to get picked up.
That last advice is all Jeb Bush needs to embrace. Go for anti-Trump one-liners, zingers, punchy 10-second soundbites. "Paring down" his policy knowledge — the authentically knowledgeable parts of which the Republican base detests — is an absolute waste of time. This "debate" will be a shootout, nothing more, and the media will endlessly loop only the bloodiest segments.
Humorous shots will score more points and earn the most media coverage. In short, what Bush needs are merely a passable memory and a first-rate joke writer, not pared-down policies and a debate coach.
It might not match Trump's stand-up routine, but at least it's something, which Bush seems to lack.
So this could be a GOP "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral". Nice. Look forward to it ! Go Trump...go Perry !
Posted by: Monty | July 31, 2015 at 11:31 AM
Bush has "deep policy knowledge"??? Do we have any reason to actually believe this, or do we just take his advisors' words for it?
OK, according to many of his competitors, whose "policy" ideas sound like they came from someone with a bad concussion, maybe his "knowledge" can be considered "deep". But really, his many moments of confusion or of making erroneous comments so far on the campaign trail cast serious doubt on the supposed depth of his knowledge. And that's not even bringing up his brother's, uhhhh, shortcomings.
Posted by: Turgidson | July 31, 2015 at 12:12 PM
That said, in a debate where he's competing for attention with 9 even bigger clowns and/or lunatics than he is, I don't blame his campaign team for their strategy of searching for sound bytes and zingers. That is the smart way to go, on a strictly pragmatic level. Heck, Newt kept his campaign going long beyond its natural expiry date in part by attacking the moderators. When the novelty of that wore off, Sheldon's money kept him limping along. That's the kind of nonsense Bush needs to contend with.
Posted by: Turgidson | July 31, 2015 at 12:21 PM
John Heilemann's focus group of Trump supporters says it all. It needs no comment other than the discussion starts at about 9 minutes:
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/videos/2015-07-30/with-all-due-respect-07-30-15-?cmpid=yhoo&pt=BureoF3GVB2012-07-28.html2012-08-09.html2012-07-30.html
Posted by: Bob | July 31, 2015 at 12:27 PM
Bush needs a lot more than a couple one liners to take Trump down. He needs to form an alliance with at least 2 other candidates on the stage. Perry and Graham are likely allies in an all out assault on Trump.
The reason he needs this is that the first person to throw a punch at Trump is going to be destroyed but the hope will be that it will start to set Trump off his game. The next person will be more difficult for Trump to dispense with and if the right attack is used Trump will start to fatigue and it may cause him to leave an opening or make a mistake. So 2 or more candidates bloodying Trump and themselves is what Bush needs to hope for and really, if he has the chops to be president, organize before the debate.
Only then could Bush come in for the kill without being irreprably damaged himself.
Posted by: Jeff | July 31, 2015 at 03:07 PM
After all that prep, "I'm a big boy," [Jeb] said. "I'll be showing up with my big boy pants on."
Good Lord.
Posted by: Shaun Appleby | July 31, 2015 at 07:22 PM
Forget Perry and Graham, it will be Christie who will attack Trump on Thursday night. Christie owes his entire career to the Bush clan. It was George who appointed him Federal Prosecutor in NJ which is where Christie created all his political power. So favors will be called in. Christie has little to lose and all upside and he is the most likely to come out of a 1 on 1 with Trump with the upper hand.
Christie will attack Trump like a snarling pit bull and Trump will return in kind. Bush will sit back and try to appear presidential.
Posted by: Jeff | August 03, 2015 at 01:56 PM