Last night I couldn't resist and I watched the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
I'll put this out there right now, Trump is nuts. Most of what he said was garbage. He lied. He went off topic. He really didn't respect the moderator. He didn't respect the time limits. He was rude at times. He didn't like it when his brand was attacked. All that being said, he controlled the room all night, for all the reasons I just stated.
Clinton had her moments. She counterpunched. She let Donald set her up and she hit him, sometimes scoring. However, she never carried the narrative. She never controlled the room. If you wanted to, you could defeat her by saying nothing and waiting for her to attack. She never had a tendency to attack and often her voice sounded unsure.
To me, even though she said the right words most of the night, it lacked confidence and conviction. Saying the right thing is important but making it believable and confident is also important, especially if you want to lead.
Now, being Canadian, I don't get to pick in this election, even though there will be spillover effects felt north of the border. Unfortunately, I can't see either of them being President of the United States of America.
I know, Hillary Clinton should be a shoo-in, but she's not. She's in a dog-fight with a buffoon. Trump clearly lost last night but it's because of his pompous arrogant slick talking ways with no regard for the truth and not because Clinton kicked his metaphorical feet out from under him, stepped on his chest, and drove a wooden stake through his bigoted heart. And, unless she does that in one of the two remaining debates, she risks losing. Donald Trump talks about winning and how he is a winner. It has been part of his narrative since he started down this path to the oval office. For me it feels like Clinton will only become President if she comes in second last in a two horse race. It feels like her only hope is Trump becomes even more horrible and people see how bad he is instead of how good she is.
I saw a meme a while back that said, "A software interface is like a joke, if you have to explain it, it isn't very good." If you are running for President and your strategy is to show how bad your opponent is, are you really very good?
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Monday, September 26, 2016
Justin, You are Slipping
So I'm not sure which is worse, having a toddler rebuff your high-five or telling his parents, "Let's get this over with," as they line up for a photo. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, had both of these happen to him this weekend while meeting with Prince William and his lovely wife Kate in Victoria BC.
I can let the toddler thing slip. It's a cute, fun antic dote. It's a story they can all tell when they are old and sitting around. However, to say such a thing to the future King of Canada, after you specifically invited him and his family to visit your country is simply unacceptable.
Here's the thing, photo ops are all the Liberal government really does. It's the Prime Minister's specialty. That being said, he often likes to take his shirt off and that really would have been out of place in this instance.
I would understand that if the Prime Minister was busy passing legislation he may want to rush through this encounter however, as the Globe and Mail reported last week, since taking power, the Liberal Government has passed ten (10) bills into law. That is not a typo, ten.
This is hardly the work of an activist government.
People are starting to notice. Mr Trudeau was a media darling when he was elected and now the press is starting to ask question. They don't really know why a majority government isn't really doing anything. They aren't seeing the words and actions lining up. Why has the United States of America and China ratified the climate change accord that was agreed to in Paris last year when our Prime Minister walked in, said Canada is back and declared we would be taking a leadership position on climate change? Maybe he should have been paying attention to what was going on instead of taking selfies.
Canadians elected a party without a recent track record. It's hard to judge what someone will do when they really haven't done much. It looks like a lot of Canadians were duped.
With the Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party taking their time choosing a new leader, you would think it would be clear sailing for the Liberals to reset Canada to what they want. However, they are taking pictures and well, I'm not sure what else.
Mr Trudeau, it's only a matter of time before a majority of Canadians see how little you are doing for them. Of course this is often the result of being elected because of what you are not instead of what you are.
I can let the toddler thing slip. It's a cute, fun antic dote. It's a story they can all tell when they are old and sitting around. However, to say such a thing to the future King of Canada, after you specifically invited him and his family to visit your country is simply unacceptable.
Here's the thing, photo ops are all the Liberal government really does. It's the Prime Minister's specialty. That being said, he often likes to take his shirt off and that really would have been out of place in this instance.
I would understand that if the Prime Minister was busy passing legislation he may want to rush through this encounter however, as the Globe and Mail reported last week, since taking power, the Liberal Government has passed ten (10) bills into law. That is not a typo, ten.
This is hardly the work of an activist government.
People are starting to notice. Mr Trudeau was a media darling when he was elected and now the press is starting to ask question. They don't really know why a majority government isn't really doing anything. They aren't seeing the words and actions lining up. Why has the United States of America and China ratified the climate change accord that was agreed to in Paris last year when our Prime Minister walked in, said Canada is back and declared we would be taking a leadership position on climate change? Maybe he should have been paying attention to what was going on instead of taking selfies.
Canadians elected a party without a recent track record. It's hard to judge what someone will do when they really haven't done much. It looks like a lot of Canadians were duped.
With the Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party taking their time choosing a new leader, you would think it would be clear sailing for the Liberals to reset Canada to what they want. However, they are taking pictures and well, I'm not sure what else.
Mr Trudeau, it's only a matter of time before a majority of Canadians see how little you are doing for them. Of course this is often the result of being elected because of what you are not instead of what you are.
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