The Debate That Didn’t Matter

Not worth your time.

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Sarah, fully ready for her hiatus, is joined by Steve, Jonah, and Dispatch Politics reporter Audrey Fahlberg for a dispiriting recap of the first GOP primary debate. Also:

-Vivek Witherspoon’s moment

-A crummy night for DeSantis

-Death of Wagner leader Prigozhin

-Biden’s response to Maui

-Not Worth Your Time (?): Jonah’s writing

Show notes-

–G-File: Who Will Stop Him?

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Comments (88)
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  1. Sean Smith

    Hey Sarah: Wishing you the best with the joyful reason for your upcoming break. Hope it all goes well, and proactive congratulations. I've listened to you long enough now that it feels like I'm talking to a friend, even though that's silly. Both of your kids will grow into forces of nature--of that there can be no doubt!

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  2. Sunilsaha2

    I look forward to the Dispatch covering this given how often we hear complaints about MSM.

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/business/fox-news-gold-star-family-apology/index.html

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      John.Rogers

      That piece while mostly true is dripping with CNN hypocrisy.

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    2. Eazy-E

      Yeah. It's not like they ever criticize Fox News...

      https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/21/media/jonah-goldberg-stephen-hayes-fox-news-reliable-sources/index.html

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      1. Sunilsaha2

        I love the Dispatch. But I feel that they sometimes spend a lot of time on small things on the left (e.g. Biden’s no comment) and don’t seem as bothered about large things on the right. Overall, it’s the best right leaning podcast I’ve found and this is my one complaint as someone ever so slightly left of center.

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        1. Eazy-E

          I'm glad that you love The Dispatch. I'm a libertarian-leaning conservative, so sometimes it might be hard to put myself in the shoes of a left-leaning listener/reader, but my perception is that The Dispatch has the best balance of left/right critiques available. I think that your criticism better fits National Review. I'm a longtime NR subscriber, but I am a bit annoyed that they tend to prioritize covering problems with the left over problems with the right. I think Rich Lowry would prefer that Donald Trump would just disappear, but that's not going to happen. The Bulwark seems to do just the opposite, and under-prioritize problems with the left. The Dispatch is a Goldilocks zone for me, but that does line up with my ideological priors.

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          1. Sunilsaha2

            I hear you on Bulwark. I listen to it when I want comfort food. But I know my priors won’t be challenged. That’s why I like The Dispatch. It’s fun to learn something new and maybe even have my mind changed every now and then.

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    Gibby

    Banner boat podcast lol

    Why isn’t that the logo on the hats?

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    Darren.Austin

    I absolutely LOVE you three. This is, unequivocally, the best episode of The Dispatch ever! I laughed out loud multiple times. Thanks for making my Saturday afternoon walk so entertaining. 😁

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    Guffia

    I think that Biden’s “no comment,” while ill advised, is easily explainable. As soon as the Maui forest started they became a conservative talking point about his administration’s incompetence. So when the question was asked to him about the fires, he would have heard it as, “Mr. President, why has your administration failed so spectacularly to give an adequate response to the fire in Hawaii.”

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    John.Rogers

    What was that word Sarah and Steve used?

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    Jordan Ingram

    On the part about the Joe Biden 'no comment' I think he was reading the teleprompter again.

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    Kyle Rose

    To post something that isn't a meta commentary on the episode, I will say I watched the entire debate and enjoyed it. I thought Haley made the best points, but unfortunately doesn't leave a strong impression compared to some of the others, so she's unlikely to stand out in a field of people who like to hear themselves talk. I was disappointed in Tim Scott's performance, and think he's basically done for this cycle. I expected little of Pence, Hutchinson, and Burgum, and wasn't disappointed. Vivek did exactly what I expected him to do, and he probably turned the most heads in the 2023 GOP. DeSantis continues to underwhelm with obviously teleprompted and awkward sloganeering.

    Honestly, however, the most impressive performance was Christie's. I want to hate him, but he actually said the right things with conviction. He was the least synthetic of the people on that stage, probably because he has zero f's left to give. That alone gives him a leg up IMO.

    All that having been said, I would vote for anyone on that stage as candidate, even Vivek. Biden has been a disaster, and I can't imagine how much more damage would occur from another four years of this (or of the hapless Kamala Harris). Just thinking about it tempts madness.

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    1. Sunilsaha2

      Unemployment at 3.5%. Inflation down to 3.2%. He certainly hasn't been perfect but he is no disaster.

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        Kyle Rose

        Inflation rising from 1.4% to 9.1% between January 2021 and June 2022, wiping out 15% of purchasing power over the last 2½ years, is disaster enough for me. What is your standard? And I haven't even gotten into the policy changes that will have a profoundly deleterious effect on our institutions and economic well-being over decades.

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        1. Sunilsaha2

          My standard is high unemployment coupled with continued rising inflation. That would be a disaster. I am impressed that inflation has come down without rising unemployment which is what many economists thought would be necessary to bring it down.

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            Kyle Rose

            And you credit the Biden administration with having exactly what part in that outcome? I understand the position that inflation could have been a lot worse, more sustained, and/or coincident with high unemployment, but it's not at all clear to me the Biden administration did anything to prevent those worse outcomes. You're basically asking me to credit them for not being awful enough...? That's a position, I suppose.

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          2. Sunilsaha2

            My understanding is that we have also done relatively well compared to others.

            https://www.ft.com/content/088d3368-bb8b-4ff3-9df7-a7680d4d81b2

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      Reading451

      Disaster? Or administered in a way you disagree with. If the former, would you be willing to expound?

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    Seth B

    I'm glad that you all watched the debate so that we didn't have to.

    Best wishes, Sarah!

    Incidentally, "Stone Cold Keller" reminds me, in a roundabout way, of the most surprising *last* name I've ever encountered: Everybodytalksabout. This was - and indeed is - a genuine last name of some Native Americans here in the northwest. (They are originally from the Blackfoot tribe in Montana, I believe.) According to Ancestry.com, the family included one gentleman who rejoiced in the name of Kills in the Night Everybodytalksabout.

    *

    The Biden "no comment" thing feels tan-suity to me. It's not as if those two words were Biden's *only* response to the disaster in Maui.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/08/15/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administrations-response-to-the-maui-wildfires/

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      Ben Connelly

      I laughed at Stone Cold Keller.

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  10. Brett F

    re: A crummy night for DeSantis

    You guys got it right. I'm amused that the NR editors are all in lockstep proclaiming a great night for DeSantis. I get it from superhacks Lowry and Cooke but come on Noah. Even Commentary didn't go there.

    re: Biden’s response to Maui

    This is all optics but optics matter.

    After watching the video I'm not convinced Biden heard the question or said "No Comment." Bottom line, he should be doing press conferences instead of taking hit and run questions.

    The kitchen fire anecdote was scripted and an unforced error. They were trying show "empathy" and totally missed the mark. Fire somebody.

    As a Dem, I'm not happy that Biden's running for re-elect. If polled I would not approve. Age has caught up with him. But if the choice is Biden/Trump or Biden/DeSantis, I won't hesitate to vote Biden. Based on debate performance, I would consider Nikki Haley.

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      Ben Connelly

      So I don’t think the guys at NR are hacks. Noah definitely isn’t a shill for DeSantis. He has been clear that he prefers other candidates and has criticized DeSantis in harsh terms. The others (including Rich and Charlie) have criticized DeSantis too. Notably, none of those three you named thought DeSantis had the best night. Mostly they seemed to say Haley did in the recent Editors podcast.

      I’m no DeSantis fan at all, but I think there’s something to the idea that this was good for him. The only goal was to beat expectations (which will be enough to keep his campaign afloat - he’s polling well still and has lots of cash). Going in, pundits were declaring his campaign dead and over. If that’s the expectation, anything short of shooting himself on stage (metaphorically) gets a passing grade, which is all he needed.

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      1. Brett F

        Charlie: "DeSantis won the debate." After which he went through all sorts of mathematical gymnastics to explain how. Call me crazy by 29-26 over Ramaswamy doesn't cut it in my opinion.

        We'll have to disagree on the level of hackery involved. I know they are desperate to avoid having to shill again for Trump next year. But I bet most the of the NR Editors will tuck their tails and do just that.

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          Ben Connelly

          Maybe I’m wrong and he did say that. I remember him eating Haley highly and saying DeSantis did well too. I thought he said she won but maybe that was Dominic.

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    2. Sunilsaha2

      Same

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