Politics

 I don't normally get too involved in politics here but since 2020 has been such a train wreck, might as well throw my two cents in. I've already cast my vote so watching the debates wasn't going to decide how I was going to fill out my ballot. However, in the interest of being an informed citizen, I'd figured I should watch them. I watched a little over an hour of the presidential debate and concur with most of the reviews I saw that it was a shit show. Trump was a bully and paid no mind what-so-ever to the rules of a debate. I assume some of this was by design, trying to rattle Biden so he would make some serious miscues but I was not impressed. And after Trump left the hospital the other day he fired off a plethora of Tweets making him look like a complete buffoon in my estimation. More like some of the goombahs I had in high school than the president of the United States. Biden was nothing to write home about either. Seems like everyone in the US knows that he's suffering from some type of dementia and that at the advanced age of 78, this is not going to work out well if he's elected. Shit show indeed.

Not having learned my lesson from the Presidential debates, I tuned in to the Vice Presidential debates. I didn't last long on this one. The moderator had better control but the performances of both of the candidates was insulting. Sen Harris started out giving the story of her life rather than answering the question that was posed. Vice President Pence followed Trumps lead and kept talking after his allotted time was up. He too for some reason didn't respond directly to the questions. And these weren't tough questions. Maybe it got better after I tuned out but from what I read, I don't think so. I doubt anyone trying to decide who to vote for would have gotten much out of it. I personally was disappointed in Pence's performance - God fearing man from my home state, supporter of vocational education, decent record as a politician in Indiana and has been able to tolerate Trump for almost four years. But his debating skills were certainly not on display the other night. If they give you two minutes, stop talking when you're time's up. You have a one minute time for a rebuttal, not while the other person has the floor. 

When the elected officials holding the two highest offices in the land can't follow the simple rules of a debate, why should I vote for them? In fact why should I vote at all anymore? I've had enough of voting for the lesser of two evils. I've done my civic duty and voted in every election since I turned 18 and this is where we've ended up just the same. I don't know what's going to happen with the remaining debates now but it doesn't matter to me. Rome's burning and the politicians are fiddling. End of the empire I'm afraid.