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You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Town Hall Tonight on ABC

Biden Town Hall Tonight on ABC

by WaterGirl|  October 15, 20208:11 pm| 355 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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TaMara often puts these up, but she’s with family.

YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZZzfrapNvo

Streaming on abcnews.com (SD says it requires a local provider).

and available on broadcast TV.

Looking good so far.

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Reader Interactions

355Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    Biden is strong tonight.

  2. 2.

    stinger

    October 15, 2020 at 8:12 pm

    @WaterGirl — OMG — THANK YOU.

  3. 3.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:14 pm

    Not watching Trump at all. If he punches Savannah Guthrie I’ll catch the clip later.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    ABC got Trump voters for this town hall.

  5. 5.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Streaming on abcnews.com if you prefer that to broadcast.

    Seems to be going reasonably well so far.

  6. 6.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 15, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    So sad I can’t watch ABC. Have Trump on by default and it’s getting feisty.

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    OK, that’s entirely an “undecided voter” question. Yeah, right.

  8. 8.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    Every time I see him on TV he gets better and better.

    The Black primary voters in South Carolina may truly have saved this country.  We just gotta get through 18 more days and do our part.

  9. 9.

    eric

    October 15, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @Baud: she is gutting him. this is the worst decision he has ever made. law of unintended consequences..

  10. 10.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    Jesus fucking Christ George S. is awful.

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: See above: ABC is streaming it on their website.

  12. 12.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    @eric:

    She’s a suburban woman.

  13. 13.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    @Baud: That appears to be a true statement.

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 15, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Wish I could, but the streaming app still requires a local provider.

  15. 15.

    dr. bloor

    October 15, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    @Baud: What a coincidence.  NBC will undoubtedly get Trump voters for his town hall as well.

  16. 16.

    Shrillhouse

    October 15, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    Trump looks and sounds crazy.

    Same old thing.

  17. 17.

    guachi

    October 15, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    I’m only passively listening to Biden but his appearance is relaxed and in command.

  18. 18.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    @Baud:

    Why did Clinton choose him to be his press secretary?

  19. 19.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 8:18 pm

    I sent multiple links to my friends and family that do politics, just to help boost his numbers.  I have it streaming on 2 of my 4 devices, just in case it helps.  Imagine Trump seeing Biden had better numbers, and the rest is simple…

  20. 20.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    Flipped over to Trump and he is ranting about Obamagate and voter fraud….RANTING.

    OKAY…..

  21. 21.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): 

    I assume he was useful when he was younger and not a Villager.

  22. 22.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    @eric:

    So Guthrie isn’t actually a lightweight atm, then?

  23. 23.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Also here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZZzfrapNvo

  24. 24.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    Don’t listen to Internet predictions, even here.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @eric: Guthrie is gutting Trump?

  26. 26.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    @Baud:

    Why did Clinton choose him to be his press secretary?

    He used to be good.  Watch the 1992 Clinton Campaign movie “The War Room” sometime.  He was damn good before he sold out and became a villager.

  27. 27.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: No, just abcnews.com in a web browser. It’s working fine for me, and I don’t have any sort of cable tv package.

  28. 28.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    Joe is cooking. His command of details *and* the broad scope is very impressive, and he can put it over in a completely human way.

  29. 29.

    mad citizen

    October 15, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    Savannah said “You’re not someone’s crazy uncle.”  He is 100% America’s crazy uncle.  That’s one of his things.  Getting to first question now.  Asking about covid policy.  Trump saying travel ban solved it.

  30. 30.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:21 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: I’m watching Trump for a bit. He’s very belligerent with Guthrie.

  31. 31.

    TS (the original)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I can watch it here (on computer)

    https://abcnews.go.com/

  32. 32.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    @Mary Ellen Sandahl:

    Yep. And all the questions he’s gotten so far have had a republican bent, and he’s handling it great.

  33. 33.

    guachi

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    @WaterGirl: Maybe Democrats working the refs the last few days has paid off?

  34. 34.

    Princess

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: It’s on Youtube

  35. 35.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    @WaterGirl: actually she riled him up. Better than Wallace.

  36. 36.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    @Kent: I refuse to watch, but some of the twitter threads I scanned suggest that he’s basically at the same level of crazy as the first debate.

  37. 37.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

    I never watch debates because they always make me feel tense and anxious (and I’m normally a very relaxed person.) I thought I would be able to handle the Biden town hall. He’s doing fine, but these Trumper questioners they’ve dredged up (they have to be polite, but still) are unbearable.

  38. 38.

    dr. bloor

    October 15, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    @Baud: I haven’t seen War Room in a while–I wonder what I would think of it now–but there was no question that George was getting a good landing spot in the administration.

  39. 39.

    eric

    October 15, 2020 at 8:23 pm

    @WaterGirl: yes.  on when he was last tested before the debate and QAnon.  I stopped when he said they do good things about pedophilia….

  40. 40.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @Shrillhouse: beads of sweat.

  41. 41.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @dmsilev:@Kent: I refuse to watch, but some of the twitter threads I scanned suggest that he’s basically at the same level of crazy as the first debate.

    And more orange and sweaty than normal too.  It’s not just my TV because every other face they show looks normal.

  42. 42.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    @Mary Ellen Sandahl:

    Joe is cooking. His command of details *and* the broad scope is very impressive, and he can put it over in a completely human way. 

    And he’s very good with the questioners, thanking them for their questions, saying he hopes he addressed their concerns.

  43. 43.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:24 pm

    “a progressive democrat”, uses a GOP talking point.

  44. 44.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    @eric: he wasn’t expecting it.

  45. 45.

    mrmoshpotato

    October 15, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    Rocking out here.  Got Biden on TV for the ratings but practically on mute (because I’m undecided. LOL)

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    This “progressive democrat” doesn’t sound like a democrat.

  47. 47.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 15, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Princess:

    Thanks. Will try that.

  48. 48.

    Jackie

    October 15, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    • @SiubhanDuinne: If you have an antenna, you can watch ABC.
  49. 49.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Quinerly:@eric: he wasn’t expecting it.

    He never does.  He lives in a bubble curated by sycophants.

  50. 50.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    @Baud:

    I assume he was useful when he was younger and not a Villager.

    I would hope so

    @Baud:

    Truthfully, I could kind of see why people would think that. I’ve never seen her have to assert herself

  51. 51.

    L85NJGT

    October 15, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    youtube link:

    https://youtu.be/9ZZzfrapNvo

  52. 52.

    LuciaMia

    October 15, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Trump seems a tad…manic

  53. 53.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    @guachi: That’s the second reference I’ve seen to us working the refs.  What are you referring to?

  54. 54.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    “Scott Atlas, one of the great experts of the world.”

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    @eric: If he’s saying he doesn’t know if he was tested before the debate he’s a lying sack of shit.  But we knew that already.

  56. 56.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    One nice thing about dueling town halls is that Biden can give a long extensive answer like this without President Plague Rat interrupting every ten seconds.

  57. 57.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:28 pm

    Joe sounds kind of rough to me, but he’s doing alright. I’m sure Trump is a total shitshow as usual, so it doesn’t matter

  58. 58.

    TheflipPsyd

    October 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    I refuse to watch Trump, but George S is absolutely horrible. His questions about raising taxes remind me of the debate he and Gibson moderated in 2016 (I think). Representing the 1 percent again. Why do all the questions  have to be gotcha  questions? Even the ones from supposed progressive audience members. Biden is doing great. He wasn’t  my first, second, or third choice,  but he’s knocking it out of the park. As a fellow transplanted  Delawarean, I am glad to see him doing well.

  59. 59.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @Kent: I’m shocked how good Guthrie is.

  60. 60.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    From what I gather…

    Is NBC really showing scenes from Cannibal Killer Suburban Women 3: The Savannah Guthrie Story?

  61. 61.

    debbie

    October 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @Baud:

    My television was already tuned to NBC, so I couldn’t avoid a second or two. Unfortunately, during that second or two, I heard Trump insist that 85% of people wearing masks end up getting sick anyway. Click.

  62. 62.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I refuse to watch, but some of the twitter threads I scanned suggest that he’s basically at the same level of crazy as the first debate. 

    People’s theory of his “strategy” in the first debate was:

    • Try to trigger Biden’s stutter and then use the footage in “Biden is senile!” ads
    • Interrupt constantly to keep Biden from getting his message out to a mass audience.

    My belief now is that the first is true (reporters had sources from the debate prep confirming it), but that the second was not based on any strategy, it’s just that Trump doesn’t have enough self-control to not act like an asshole, even when it hurts him. He also can’t bear to have anyone else getting any attention, so he’ll do whatever it takes to make everyone look, even if they hate what they’re seeing.

  63. 63.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:29 pm

    The kid is like, “I’m just a plant. I didn’t expect a detailed answer.”

  64. 64.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Quinerly: Expert at reinforcing Trump’s own prejudices, sure. Epidemiology, not so much.

  65. 65.

    divF

    October 15, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Quinerly:

    “Irwin Corey, World’s Greatest Authority”. Except Corey was funnier, and knew more than Atlas.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    Joe seems like he’s rambling.  He is not connecting with this young black man.

  67. 67.

    Feathers

    October 15, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:  I’m watching it on the YouTube app on my TV. Apparently the ABC News website makes you have a cable subscription to stream, but they are also streaming this live on YouTube. Just search for ABC and it’s there. They’ve got nearly 300,000 viewers between the two different streams I saw.

    ETA: My laptop won’t show me how many are streaming Trump and I refuse to click to see it pop up.

    EATA: Checked the YouTube app on my phone: Trump on NBC:  131K.  Suckers. What does Trump have on NBC?

  68. 68.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Anonymous At Work: yes.

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    @Feathers: I put the youtube link up top.

  70. 70.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @Baud: In fairness, Trump could spend even longer discussing his own greatness.

  71. 71.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): A more cynical view is that Trump smeared and slandered her bosses before the broadcast, after they did a solid for Trump. Wonder if she got a phone call?

    To amplify the Good Book: Pride and lunacy goeth before destruction, and a fool who acts like he is stoned up to his eyeballs before a fall.

    That is from the book of Erasmus 20:20

    @WaterGirl:  Biden gets ‘undecided and independent’ Trumpers and Trump gets disrespectful disgusting plebes and riff raff, and ungrateful The Blacks who he has done more for than anyone since Abe Lincoln. Will be a fun evening.

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    @Baud: Yeah, it may be hard to connect with a rock who isn’t listening.

  73. 73.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    Everyone ABC got for this is a plant.  Or really these are the only undecided voters left.  The dregs of the normies.

  74. 74.

    SiubhanDuinne

    October 15, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    @Redshift:

    Thank you! That works. I’m most appreciative!

  75. 75.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    Have there been any Hillary voters yet?

  76. 76.

    The Thin Black Duke

    October 15, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    Damn, Joe is good. Maybe he’s outnumbered at this Town Hall, but he ain’t outgunned.

  77. 77.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    We spent too much time on Savannah, not enough on George.

  78. 78.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:33 pm

    @dmsilev: Guthrie pushed him with a study out of University of Washington. He back into the Scott Atlas shit. Brought him up. Then she attacked Atlas’s credentials.

  79. 79.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    Trump keeps telling Savanah, “we should be on the same side.”

  80. 80.

    cain

    October 15, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @Kent: I bet Sheldon Addison is feeling really good about the latest contribution to the trump campaign

  81. 81.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @Quinerly: Huh. I’ll bet that went well…

  82. 82.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @Quinerly:

    NBC alums.

  83. 83.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:35 pm

    @Quinerly:@dmsilev: Guthrie pushed him with a study out of University of Washington. He back into the Scott Atlas shit. Brought him up. Then she attacked Atlas’s credentials.

    Actual debates have very carefully curated rules that limit moderator interaction and follow-up.  And basically license the candidates to ramble on with no follow up or fact checking.

    Apparently ad-hoc town halls do not.   OOPS!

  84. 84.

    divF

    October 15, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    How is Trump’s physical stamina ? Is he short of breath, having trouble with physical coordination?

  85. 85.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    @divF: It’s the normal unhinged Trump.  He’s got his rant voice on.  He doesn’t look like he is going to collapse.

  86. 86.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    I unmuted on Georgie asking “a followup about the crime bill,” ugh. Dude, it was more than 25 years ago, nobody cares about it except Berners and Republicans, that is, people looking for an excuse to be against Biden!

  87. 87.

    A Ghost to Most

    October 15, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    Shitgibbon, asked at his town hall if he tested negative before the first debate:

    “Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t.”

  88. 88.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:37 pm

    @divF: Hell with that, is he dancing and offering audience members big smooches if they are nice to him?

  89. 89.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    @Baud: Someone reposted an old Chris Hayes article on “undecided” voters from 2004 or so and about how, yes, they are derided, but usually for ignorance and the inability/unwillingness to connect their real-world problems to politics.  There is no link because I think it predates the archives…

    That said, remember that 90% of registered Independents are what political scientists call “fraking liars” or “fraking pretentious liars” (aka partisans), 5% are legitimately “independent” in largely noncoherent ways, and the rest are split between various pathologies.

  90. 90.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    @A Ghost to Most: Maybe he can’t remember.

  91. 91.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    @divF: sitting funny in a very uncomfortable chair for an obese man. Savanah is getting to him.

    He’s not answering the questions. Mostly all women with the questions.

  92. 92.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Trump keeps telling Savanah, “we should be on the same side.” 

    He calls the press enemies of America. So I guess he realizes he is too?

  93. 93.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    Savanah hitting him about taxes.

    “Who do you owe $400 million to?”

    Trump, “Tiny percentage of my net worth.”

  94. 94.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    Just got home; have Biden on ABC online.  You could not pay me to watch Trump, and screw NBC for giving him the forum.

    So:  NBC has Trump both Thursdays; next week is the debate moderated by Kristin Welker.

  95. 95.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    @Quinerly:

    What’s the answer?

  96. 96.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    @Kent: Seems like solo town halls would be the better forum for general presidential elections.  Lower levels, like primaries, Senate, Governor, Congress, etc. can have debates, new information is possible.  But by this time, things are known as well as possible.

  97. 97.

    guachi

    October 15, 2020 at 8:40 pm

    Biden’s really practiced his answers. There are only so many questions a voter is likely to answer and Biden clearly has a thorough answer for basically anything anyone is likely to ask.

    Good preparation.

  98. 98.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @Redshift: Biden is a man for all seasons, a dangerous commie who wants to sic the depraved riff raff on suburban white women and take all the T-ball dads’ stuff, and also the irredeemable racist and classist who wants lock them all away in jail forever.

  99. 99.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @jl:

    Hah! Could be. It’s always nice to see Trump suffering consequences for his own actions every once in awhile

  100. 100.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    @jl:

    Obama was a feckless tyrant.

  101. 101.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    October 15, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    The IRS is very mean to me, too!

  102. 102.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    @Baud: won’t answer. “I’m treated very badly by the IRS.”

  103. 103.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    @Elizabelle: Just got home; have Biden on ABC online. You could not pay me to watch Trump, and screw NBC for giving him the forum.

    Same here.  But Biden on TV not online.

  104. 104.

    mad citizen

    October 15, 2020 at 8:42 pm

    @divF: he’s much more coherent and physically OK than I expected.  Savannah asked who he owes money to.  He says he is extremely under levered, and took some loans as favors when institutions wanted to loan him money.  Says he doesn’t owe Russia anything.  Can’t release taxes until IRS audit is done.

  105. 105.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    Why do undecided voters get his special status of being invited to town halls?

  106. 106.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    @Baud: Baud 2072! wants to drink his beer and keep it too.

  107. 107.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    @Baud: I haven’t seen a single democrat or non-republican talking point yet.

    edit: Finally!  This fellow in the checkered shirt.  Yay.

  108. 108.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    Court packing coming up!

  109. 109.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Baud: Playing hard to get to get attention.

  110. 110.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @guachi: Trump didn’t prepare.

    This is my shocked face.

    “I don’t owe money to sinister people.”

    “$400 million is a peanut.”

  111. 111.

    Mary G

    October 15, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    Biden isn’t generating any sound bites and he gets stuck on a word here and there, but he clearly knows his stuff. He was honest about some of the 1994 crime bill being bad. George tried a gotcha and Biden blew right by him. The lady who asked the question was nodding along.

  112. 112.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Baud: incoherent self-righteous questioning sprung from ignorance is the birthing ground of gotchas.

  113. 113.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @Baud: Pretentious media types see them as the “real deciders” because it allows the media to play both sides off against each other while retaining morale superiority.

    And that’s the charitable explanation.

  114. 114.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    @Anonymous At Work:

    @Baud: Someone reposted an old Chris Hayes article on “undecided” voters from 2004 or so and about how, yes, they are derided, but usually for ignorance and the inability/unwillingness to connect their real-world problems to politics.  There is no link because I think it predates the archives


    That said, remember that 90% of registered Independents are what political scientists call “fraking liars” or “fraking pretentious liars” (aka partisans), 5% are legitimately “independent” in largely noncoherent ways, and the rest are split between various pathologies.

    I know actual undecided voters in my family.  It’s deliberate ignorance and tuning out of all politics and taking the general attitude of “pox on all their houses” and then coming around at the last minute and trying to make some sort of personal a-political “character judgement” about the two candidates.  Who you want to have a beer with sort of thing.   Hillary is shrill, Trump seems like a nice guy level of analysis.

    Fuck them.  They don’t deserve to be listened to.  In no other area of society do we actually give a microphone to people who make themselves deliberately ignorant.  Do we do technology reviews by people who can’t be bothered to learn about how computers work?  Do we do movie reviews by people who don’t actually watch movies?  Do we let people with no knowledge or interest make any other important decisions in our world?   Nope, only in politics do we have a fetish about undecided voters.

  115. 115.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    @mad citizen:

    He says he is extremely under levered, and took some loans as favors when institutions wanted to loan him money.

    Sounds plausible.

  116. 116.

    JPL

    October 15, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    @mad citizen: I had to switch back to Biden cuz trump was giving Guthrie the Wallace treatment.   If I keep spouting nonsense, she can’t ask follow ups.

  117. 117.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    @Baud:

    Actually, a legitimate question.  Didn’t get into GOP spin.

  118. 118.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    @mad citizen: he’s sweating like a pig. But not doing the snorting thing he used to do.

  119. 119.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Thanks for watching it so we don’t have to. What are the facial expressions like on the voters asking him questions?

  120. 120.

    mad citizen

    October 15, 2020 at 8:46 pm

    There was an obvious planted question for trump from a woman: “Corporate tax rate is a hot button issue…”  What?

  121. 121.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    George S. again with the GOP talking point.

  122. 122.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    I am liking Biden answering questions without MOFO Trump sticking his ass in.  And this is a good Q about the Supreme Court.  Just don’t pledge not to pack the Court, Joe.  Please.

  123. 123.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    The Undecided Voters – SNL

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAG37Kw1-aw

    I think this skit should be made a national public service announcement played every presidential election cycle.

  124. 124.

    sralloway

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @mad citizen: Loved that comeback. When I switched over, I saw Trump and thought of Galaxy Quest when Jason Nesmith told Sarris, “You’re sweating.” Trump is sweating and looks wet under the lights.

  125. 125.

    JPL

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @dmsilev: could be .. It depends on the meaning of levered.

  126. 126.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    @Baud:Court packing coming up!

    Which exactly ZERO “undecided” voters care about.

  127. 127.

    JPL

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    Biden is sounding stronger.

  128. 128.

    Princess

    October 15, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    I’m listening to Biden tonight and TBH I think this is the first “debate” I’ve really listened to all season.

    Biden is coming across as a very normal guy who has thought hard about a lot of things and is pretty smart and quick.

    I can’t even imagine having a president who is a normal person at this point. It would be so restful.

  129. 129.

    mad citizen

    October 15, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @Quinerly: Yes, agree, he is sweating a lot.  Miami.  Now the scotus hypocrisy question.  Trump BSing it.  All BS.  All the time.

  130. 130.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @Baud: He has been a self-righteous douchebag since the ’90s.

  131. 131.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @TheflipPsyd:As a fellow transplanted  Delawarean, I am glad to see him doing well.

    As a sorta-honorary Delawarean (18 years up there), me too!

  132. 132.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    @mad citizen: All my neighbors are talking about carried interest and passive partnership exemptions!

  133. 133.

    L85NJGT

    October 15, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    Is that flop sweat or drool all over Donnie’s chin?

  134. 134.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 15, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    @guachi: Has anybody asked him for his plans to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

  135. 135.

    Rina99

    October 15, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    The cable is out here, so I can’t watch on TV. Based on the comments,  it seems preparedness actually works for Biden. Trump appears to be acting like Trump, so…yeah.

  136. 136.

    zhena gogolia

    October 15, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    Guiness is flashy, but Mills is really holding his own.

  137. 137.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    October 15, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): He didn’t, Dee Dee Myers was Press Secretary; George was the Director of Communications.

  138. 138.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    Fuck George S.  Jesus.

  139. 139.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    OMG this old guy sure represents the average voter.

  140. 140.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    Can we reserve a special rocket to fire Stephanopolus straight into the sun after this? Preferable at the next commercial break?

  141. 141.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    @Kent:

    Which exactly ZERO “undecided” voters care about.

    Oh, but according to the very savvy press, that’s just “Democratic wishcasting” dontcha know

  142. 142.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    Newt Gingrich and Fatass Limbaugh are responsible for this political climate.

  143. 143.

    guachi

    October 15, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    @Princess: Biden is coming across as a very normal guy who has thought hard about a lot of things and is pretty smart and quick.

    Yes. It’s a good one sentence summary of Biden’s strength.

  144. 144.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:51 pm

    “within closed rooms, Dems like ACB.”

    I’m paraphrasing.

    “Never seen a human being treated as badly as Kavanaugh.”

    I’m on my phone. Can’t type out this rambling answer on the Supreme Court. He didn’t talk about obvious things with ACB.

  145. 145.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    So much for the “Truth and Retaliation Commission”. Sob.

  146. 146.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 8:52 pm

    @Jeffro:

    Dover High grad here.

  147. 147.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    @Baud: The coveted “Son of Reagan Cabinet Secretary” demographic.

  148. 148.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    @Baud:   Drew Lewis’s son. I remember Drew.  Maybe GHWBush Transportation Secretary??  Or Reagan’s?

  149. 149.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    Biden remembered him too.

  150. 150.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Tip and Ronnie!

  151. 151.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    @dmsilev:

    The Last Undecideds Voter.

  152. 152.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    Perfect answer on Justice Department.

  153. 153.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:54 pm

    “Would you like to see Roe vs Wade overturned?”

    Trump, “I don’t want to give her a signal on how to rule.”

    Rambling answer.

  154. 154.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    George: how is the Biden administration going to sic the DOJ on the Trumpov admin?

    Biden: they’re not MY DoJ!

    Fucking ty, Joe!

  155. 155.

    mad citizen

    October 15, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    Trump is a human cartoon.  He reminds me of when larry david tries to bullshit on his show.  I’m laughing now that people ask this guy any question to see what this great mind is going to tell us.

  156. 156.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    @dmsilev:So much for the “Truth and Retaliation Commission”. Sob.

    He’s talking to Republican voters.  18 days from the election it’s all about making it safe for Republicans to cross the aisle and vote for Biden.

    Come January 20th law breaking can still be prosecuted.

  157. 157.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    These constitutional readings are awful.

  158. 158.

    JPL

    October 15, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    @Baud: I know which changed the dynamics of the question.

  159. 159.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 8:55 pm

    I was reading in the bedroom, but I had to rouse myself to come get on the computer to see the Trump shitshow after reading some Twitter stuff. I’m a little nonplussed, because from what I have seen in the last few minutes he seems remarkably calm—for him—although the actual content of his words is complete bullshit, of course.

    Savannah Guthrie is pressing him a fair amount, which is good.

    I’m looking forward to what Rachel Maddow—with Joy Reid and Nicolle Wallace, I hope—makes of these events.

  160. 160.

    Princess

    October 15, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    More thoughts: Biden knows what he thinks and isn’t trying to hide it. He comes across as very honest. You may agree or disagree with his view, but he’s calling it the way he sees it.

    Also, I don’t mind the George S GOP talking points. It gives Biden a chance to bat them down in front of an audience, and he’s doing it easily. George hasn’t stumped him once, again, because Biden knows where Biden stands.

  161. 161.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    Joe brings up rape charge against Trump.  Yea!

  162. 162.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 8:56 pm

    Good answer on Trump’s corruption of DoJ.

  163. 163.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    undecided voter

    “Mr. President, you are so handsome it makes my knees weak”

    For real.  That just happened.

  164. 164.

    cain

    October 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    @Quinerly:

    So ACB is some kind of employee under his direction ?

  165. 165.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    @Elizabelle:

    I liked how be weaved that in there nonchalantly.

  166. 166.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    @Kent: Some weirdness here but technology should, to some extent, be judged by how well your grandparents or Luddite friends use it.

    The article was good because it talked about how the disconnect between a trucker wondering why his non-union company lacked the health care plan a previous union employer did.  There’s ignorance that can be cured, somehow, and part of it may be not having the capacity or willpower to stay informed.

    I put a lot of blame about this on the media.  By staying neutral on content and hewing to a both-sides style objectivity, the media is actually harming their readers/viewers.  And yes, the media’s overhyping of “independents” and “moderates” and “undecideds” creates a pretentious comfort zone for too many.

    To the extent that a minimum wage worker doesn’t have time or energy after 2 40-hour a week jobs…that’s something else.  I’m not so quick to cast all blame.

  167. 167.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    October 15, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    This Fucking lady tells trump he’s got a great smile before asking her question.  Fuck off, you nut!

  168. 168.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    Okay, had to mute it. A “slightly leaning Democrat” woman prefaced her question with a shameless fangirl gush about how handsome Trump is when he smiles. Democrat, my ass. And hella bad taste.

  169. 169.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Baud:  Yeah, that was cool.  Very human.

    ETA:  I am loving ABC Go.  It mutes the commercials.  Blessed silence.  Online, I just get ABC station promos (special on John Lennon coming up soon).

  170. 170.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    Telling a Black woman that he has a great relationship with African Americans.

    Now White Clinton Woman voter (now undecided) tells Trump he has a great smile. He should smile more.

  171. 171.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Baud: George S. is inserting himself into all the questions from the people.  This isn’t really a town hall.  Disappointed in ABC.

  172. 172.

    Ian

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    He had the smarmy young savvy appeal, without the twenty years of being colossally wrong on every single issue under his belt already?

  173. 173.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Baud:

    They truly are, they were narrated by the most boring narrator on the corporate training video circuit.

  174. 174.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 8:58 pm

    @Baud:

    Yeah, it’s really corny

  175. 175.

    guachi

    October 15, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    So… no actual undecided voters at the GOP NBC Townhall?

  176. 176.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Worst moderator yet.

  177. 177.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: and she voted for Clinton in 2016!

  178. 178.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    @mad citizen: that whole immigration exchange was a joke…

    Guthrie now correcting trumpov’s BS on DACA

    trumpov now lying about that (shocker!)

    …annnnnd we’re right back to immigrant murderers and rapists…

  179. 179.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    Guthrie has done a fair job of pressing Trump on the questions a bit, but she has done a shit job of fact-checking or calling him on his bald-faced lies.

  180. 180.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    @Quinerly: Or she’s lying.

  181. 181.

    Yutsano

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    I’m coming into this late, but Unca Joe has been really good so far. A couple rough spots but still really solid. “I can’t be Irish because I don’t hold a grudge.”

  182. 182.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    @guachi: that’s putting it mildly…awful lot of “undecided” voters cheering as this town hall wraps up…

  183. 183.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    Black Republican woman.  Bringing up fracking.

  184. 184.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    @Anonymous At Work: You missed my point.  People have a right to be ignorant.  I’m ignorant about a lot of things my kids are obsessed about, like KPop.  What I dislike is how our media fetishizes this ignorance and gives it the microphone at these sorts of events.  We don’t really do that in any other walk of life.

  185. 185.

    Ohio Mom

    October 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    Leto @140:
    Can I have dibs on lighting the fuse on the rocket sending Stephanous into space?

  186. 186.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    Okay, over to Rachel Maddow. Might have to break out the Hendrick’s and tonic. Got a nice, fat lime at the grocery today.

  187. 187.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    @cain: he is insistent that they didn’t discuss “the obvious.”

    Now he is ranting about “We had no borders when I came to office.”

  188. 188.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Now White Clinton Woman voter (now undecided) tells Trump he has a great smile. He should smile more.

    ?

  189. 189.

    JPL

    October 15, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    trump has a bobblehead doll behind him, and Joe doesn’t.   How did that happen?

  190. 190.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 15, 2020 at 9:01 pm

    “You have a nice smile.”   Honest to god, you can’t make this stuff up. It’s too far out there.

  191. 191.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    “Former” President Biden is the tipoff that these people are Republicans.

  192. 192.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @Baud: Um what?  You have got to be kidding me.  I mean I know you’re not but still…

  193. 193.

    Zzyzx

    October 15, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @Old Dan and Little Ann:

    ‘Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and five times winner of Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming-Smile Award – but I don’t talk about that. I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!’

  194. 194.

    Quinerly

    October 15, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @Steeplejack: I, too, have fat lime, AND Peychaud Bitters, and Boodles Gin.

    Tonic.

  195. 195.

    Fair Economist

    October 15, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    @dmsilev:

    So much for the “Truth and Retaliation Commission”. Sob.

    Not at all. Biden said prosecutions will be decided by those he appoints as prosecutors. And at this point anybody honest is white-hot to break up the Republican criminal enterprise. All Biden has to do is not get in their way, and that’s what he said he will do.

  196. 196.

    L85NJGT

    October 15, 2020 at 9:02 pm

    Trump’s pupils are crazy dilated.

  197. 197.

    lamh36

    October 15, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    Chump is over. Biden still got 30min

  198. 198.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    @Ian:

    I guess lol

  199. 199.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    The next town hall of undecided voters will feature people who have recently had lobotomies.

  200. 200.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    @Ohio Mom: deal! See ya at the pad!

  201. 201.

    tinare

    October 15, 2020 at 9:04 pm

    @Kent: Seriously? Jaba the Hut with weird hair? Who was that person?

  202. 202.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @Quinerly:

    “We had no borders when I came to office.”

    That and the whole “We had to rebuild the military” thing both drive me nuts. He’s been blatting that out for four years, and I don’t think anyone has ever said it’s bullshit. They just seem to ignore it.

  203. 203.

    Anonymous At Work

    October 15, 2020 at 9:05 pm

    @Kent: Agreed on everything but this:

    Don’t sleep on KPop.  They single-handedly launched the Twitter battles that destroyed #whitelivesmatter and #proudboys

  204. 204.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @Baud: Why can’t Biden do town halls with the League of Women voters?  I get the they have no control over the debates, but if Biden can work out this deal with ABC, why not work one out with the league of women voters and stream it?

  205. 205.

    Mary G

    October 15, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @Elizabelle: Joe skated by the court packing question pretty easily. George isn’t trying as hard as it goes along.

  206. 206.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    October 15, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @Quinerly: I’m flipping over during Biden’s commercial breaks. She is Twitter famous already.

  207. 207.

    Adam L Silverman

    October 15, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    New open thread on the less than two hours old, it was only a 1/2 hour old when I started typing, is up.

  208. 208.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    How big would the audience be without network backing?

  209. 209.

    Ian

    October 15, 2020 at 9:06 pm

    @Anonymous At Work:

    That was a good article.  The gist of it was this “there is this bloc of undecided voters out there.  They hate politics, but their parents raised them that it is their civic duty to vote.  They don’t pay any attention till the last month, they have a weird sense of how the government works and what it actually does, and they have a weird proto-isolationist viewpoint.

    The article came up at lot in the post 2016 discussions of where the F* did all these last minute Trump voters come from?  Between him and Comey, they did their best to appeal to all the right (wrong?) buttons for these kind of voters at the close of 16.

  210. 210.

    errg

    October 15, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    He’s terrible…

  211. 211.

    TheflipPsyd

    October 15, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @Jeffro:  LOL. You are more honorary than I am. I’ve been here only 15 years

  212. 212.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 9:07 pm

    @Baud: Does that include the “moderators”?

  213. 213.

    mad citizen

    October 15, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    Turned over to Biden who is still going.  The contrast to a candidate who can talk intelligently using facts about all the subjects is jarring.  Obama.  Hillary.  Joe.  Kamala on deck.

  214. 214.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Does this new thread offer cake? Pie? Punch? What are our incentives here for swapping over?

  215. 215.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    @Princess:

    Also, I don’t mind the George S GOP talking points. It gives Biden a chance to bat them down in front of an audience, and he’s doing it easily. George hasn’t stumped him once, again, because Biden knows where Biden stands.

    I agree and Joe’s response to the repeated pushing on “court packing” was a great example. Just kept up the light footwork and George had to chase him around the ring and never landed a solid blow.

  216. 216.

    L85NJGT

    October 15, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    Sans sound Trump looks like a spittle flecked loon.  Joe is cool as a cucumber.

  217. 217.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 15, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    @Steeplejack: Hendricks is one of my favorite gins.

  218. 218.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Cheers. ? Just finishing a half-glass of plonk-level Cab I had with hummus and crackers.

  219. 219.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    @Leto:

    Hasn’t it always? What other explanation is there?

  220. 220.

    cain

    October 15, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    @Baud: who needs corporate backing when you have twitch.tv?

    Just put it on twitch the networks will be forced to follow along

  221. 221.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    @Baud: He could have a virtual audience like we did for the convention.

    edit: and let actual real people send the questions in.

  222. 222.

    khead

    October 15, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    Trump lies. Savannah corrects. Repeatedly.

    People on my FB feed: The media is being mean to Trump again.

  223. 223.

    Immanentize

    October 15, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    @Quinerly: please invite me for a drink?

  224. 224.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    @cain:

    I don’t understand you kids and your new fangled technology mumbo jumbo.

  225. 225.

    Sayne

    October 15, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    Ugh.

    There’s no way to get to net-zero carbon without Nuclear power.  It drives me totally bonkers that it’s such a controversial topic.

    BUT CHERNOBYL.  

    Nuclear accidents are the plane crashes of the energy generation world.  They’re big and scary and draw attention… but on a whole nuclear plants are much safer than coal plants.

    Coal plants are the auto crashes of the same world.  They’re diffuse so we don’t recognize the threat.  But the health and environmental effects of coal extraction, burning and waste storage (coal ash emits far more radioactive material into the environment than nuclear plants do, because there’s no means of catching it) are HORRIBLE for the environment.  Way worse than properly designed and regulated nuclear power.

    Drive me bonkers.

  226. 226.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 9:11 pm

    @TheflipPsyd: Too funny.  We’ve been back in VA for about 6-7 years now but still have lots of connections in the First State.

    We got back up to Dewey Beach late this past summer for 4 days and it was like “ahhhhhh” – so nice!

  227. 227.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:12 pm

    WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE???

  228. 228.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: awesome!  explains your love of politics (Senators) LOL

  229. 229.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    @Baud: Which is lopsided – his hair or his head?

  230. 230.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    The look on Joe’s face is one I got from an awful lot of teachers. Fuck off Hoffman.

  231. 231.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    @Ian:That was a good article.  The gist of it was this “there is this bloc of undecided voters out there.  They hate politics, but their parents raised them that it is their civic duty to vote.  They don’t pay any attention till the last month, they have a weird sense of how the government works and what it actually does, and they have a weird proto-isolationist viewpoint.

    Of course there is.  There always is.  The point is we shouldn’t be letting them ask all the questions at these sorts of events.  Imagine how different these town halls would be if:

    • Teachers were asking questions about education
    • Doctors and nurses were asking questions about health care policy
    • Farmers were asking questions about agricultural policy
    • Immigrants were asking questions about immigration policy
    • Environmental scientists were asking questions about climate change
    • Black people asking questions about civil rights and voting rights
    • Economists asking questions about economic policy
    • etc.

    instead of a bunch of deliberately ignorant people or partisan liars asking random stupid questions that make my head hurt.

  232. 232.

    The Thin Black Duke

    October 15, 2020 at 9:13 pm

    People on my FB feed: The media is being mean to Trump again.

    Who cares what these assclowns think?

  233. 233.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    So was the fellow the checkered shirt who asked about LGBT issues the only non-republican questioner tonight?

  234. 234.

    khead

    October 15, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Who said I care?  I’m laughing like hell about it.  Big ol’ manly GOP folks crying and whining about the media.

  235. 235.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Yes.

  236. 236.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke: I kind of care… knowing they are upset kind of makes me happy.

    But seriously, I take your point and agree.

  237. 237.

    MagdaInBlack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    Watching Hal Sparks live stream trump. Hal makes it bearable. He stops the stream and explains and comments.

  238. 238.

    Jay

    October 15, 2020 at 9:15 pm

    Siena/NYT polls suggests Graham has polled significantly better as he's gotten the opportunity to preside over cordial, collegial confirmation hearings. If it's tight, Feinstein's praise and (literal) embrace of Graham might just cost Harrison the race. https://t.co/zuoD9RzIzM— Will Stancil (@whstancil) October 15, 2020

  239. 239.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    @Baud: I was hoping maybe I missed one while I was typing!

  240. 240.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    This might be a legitimate questions on transgender rights.

  241. 241.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    @Sayne:

    The problem with nuclear power is the waste that gets left behind. It will still be radioactive for 10s of thousands of years

  242. 242.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 15, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    @mad citizen: Also, you can feel your blood pressure drop when you switch to Biden. Imagine having that all the time.

  243. 243.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    Biden:  “Trump gets laughed at — literally, not figuratively — when he goes to the United Nations …”

  244. 244.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Depends how credible you think that young black progressive was?

  245. 245.

    The Thin Black Duke

    October 15, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    @khead: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Still, I can’t laugh at these idiots because they ain’t no joke.

  246. 246.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    “I give him some credit.  Our reputation in tatters.  Etc.  But Trump hasn’t literally shit in his hand and thrown it at any head of state yet.  So yea?!”  Damning with faint praise and doing it well.

  247. 247.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    Biden is kicking ass on the LGBT question.

  248. 248.

    Jeffro

    October 15, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    @Kent: SEC-OND-ED

  249. 249.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    @Sayne:

    The problem with nuclear power is the waste that gets left behind. It will still be radioactive for 10s of thousands of years

    Nuclear waste disposal isn’t a scientific or technical problem.  It’s a political problem.

  250. 250.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    I can always tell when the next thread is by Adam, because the arrow widget over on the right side of the page is almost a whole screen in height…

  251. 251.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    @Baud: Slow hanging pitch for him.

  252. 252.

    Kropacetic

    October 15, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    @Anonymous At Work: By staying neutral on content and hewing to a both-sides style objectivity, the media is actually harming their readers/viewers.  And yes, the media’s overhyping of “independents” and “moderates” and “undecideds” creates a pretentious comfort zone for too many.

    A naive person’s idea of “savvy.”

  253. 253.

    Gin & Tonic

    October 15, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    @Quinerly: I’ve never understood people who sully a G&T with bitters

    ETA: Although I have often been called bitter myself.

  254. 254.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: He deserves one between this line up and GS.

  255. 255.

    MisterForkbeard

    October 15, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    @Baud: At this point, “undecided voters” are Republicans who love Republicans but maybe might not like Trump or cant bring themselves to admit to it publicly.

    Of course all the questions are fucking terrible.

  256. 256.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    @Baud: Agreed.  And he hit it well.

  257. 257.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    The fact that George hasn’t brought up Hunter Biden proves how lame that smear was.

  258. 258.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:22 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    It is very good. I drink it sparingly because of the expense and also because I’m more of a rum-and-tonic guy (Mount Gay), but once in a blue moon I just need a dirty martini with a couple of fat Mezzetta olives or an ice-cold gin and tonic with lime. My only complaint is the bullshit moonshine brown bottles. Hard to pour from, and I can never gauge how much I have left.

    A few months ago we had a hilarious conversation at Sighthound Hall about what things you would want a trusted friend to “take care of” in the event of your untimely demise. I said the only thing I would want is for whoever cleaned out my refrigerator to know that the gin chilling in the low-end Bombay bottle is Hendrick’s, not Bombay. Nice clear bottle where you know what’s what.

  259. 259.

    khead

    October 15, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    No problem.  I haven’t been around as much lately, but I tend to use my FB feed as fodder for discussion (ridicule?) and to give a peek into wingnut WV (and WV expats) here.

  260. 260.

    Subcommandante Yakbreath

    October 15, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Me too. What year?

  261. 261.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    What a dumb ass question from a “Dem.”

    This is the worst town hall group ever.

  262. 262.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    What a shit question.

  263. 263.

    debbie

    October 15, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    @Quinerly:

    the only time he’s smiling is when he’s humping the flag. Any other time, it’s a sneer or a grimace.

  264. 264.

    mali muso

    October 15, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    Just turned on the Biden town hall about 15 minutes ago.  Jayzus, that question (commentary?) from the “undecided” dipshit about “Peace in the Middle East” was so painful.  Has it all been this bad?

  265. 265.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    @mali muso:

    Almost completely, yes.  Biden’s been mostly good though.

  266. 266.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    Q: What happens if you lose?

    Biden: WASF.

  267. 267.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    Stupid question, not quite at the level of 2016’s “say something nice about the other candidate”, but getting there.

  268. 268.

    Ian

    October 15, 2020 at 9:25 pm

    @Kent: I don’t disagree with you, these forums would be better if people who knew what they were talking about asked the questions.

    The point of the article is a lot of these people don’t give a shit about politics the way you and I do.  The point of these ‘town hall debates’ is to give ABC and NBC ratings.  That’s why the morons are running the thing at the same time.  I have no idea why they decide every four years that we the people need to be represented by the least informed among us, but I suspect the reason being to do with their bottom line and a desire for low info repeat news.  I also suspect that getting activists and people who cared about issues would create a harder to control format, with a greater possibility that someone who cares about these issues creating a disruption for the producers.

    My 2 cents, thanks for taking the time to engage with me.

  269. 269.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    @Baud: Until he opened his mouth?  I had high hopes!

    Once he framed the quest and froze his face like an iceberg?  Not so much.

  270. 270.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:26 pm

    A little humility from Biden.  It’s nice.

  271. 271.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    @Subcommandante Yakbreath:

    1983

  272. 272.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    @Kent:

    Yes, that’s true. However, how can there be any guarantee that the underground sealed containers of nuclear waste will not leak into the surrounding soil and water table at some point thousands of years from now? We would only be giving our future descendants one more headache to deal with; especially if our civilization falls and another less advanced civilization takes our place

  273. 273.

    AxelFoley

    October 15, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Damn, it is! ?

  274. 274.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:28 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Heh. Truth.

  275. 275.

    zhena gogolia

    October 15, 2020 at 9:28 pm

    @Baud:

    FWIW

    Trigger Alert: I’m about to say something that will upset many people reading my Twitter feed tonight.My group of undecided voters say that the more Trump speaks, the worse he looks.— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) October 16, 2020

  276. 276.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    @Baud:

    @HumboldtBlue:

    Bipartisanship! Can’t we all just get along?!

  277. 277.

    Baud

    October 15, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    another less advanced civilization takes our place

    Less advanced that one that elected Trump?

  278. 278.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    I don’t think they’re taking enough commercial breaks…

  279. 279.

    zhena gogolia

    October 15, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    @Subcommandante Yakbreath:

    Great nym!

  280. 280.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    @dmsilev: Adam keeps trying to break his own record for how long it is.  When Adam adds lalalalala to the end of a post title, we’ll know he’s just phoning it in.

  281. 281.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    @Leto: That’s a lot of commercials.  And now we know whey they want these town halls.  Besides slanting toward the Rs, of course.

    Ad money!

  282. 282.

    Omnes Omnibus

    October 15, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    @Leto: Think of it as time that Steph isn’t asking dumb questions.

  283. 283.

    Kropacetic

    October 15, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: That was a good year.

  284. 284.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): I feel like that should be a question directed at Cheryl because 1) she helped design those containers (if I remember correctly) and 2) this is her area of expertise.

    Also this page gives a bit more information on all the storage options: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-waste/storage-and-disposal-of-radioactive-waste.aspx

  285. 285.

    patrick II

    October 15, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    @Kent:

    I also think that independence allows them to think of themselves as fair and unprejudiced. They don’t think of themselves as partisan, prejudiced and unable to weigh the objective truth as the rest of us are. Much like Amy Gooney Barrett.

  286. 286.

    mali muso

    October 15, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    @Baud: Guess I’m glad to have missed it.  Really only tuned in to do my part to help the viewing numbers and ratings.

  287. 287.

    dmsilev

    October 15, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Heh. I believe it.

  288. 288.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 15, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    @Steeplejack: Yeah the Hendricks bottle does suck. Most of my gin drinking happens in the spring and summer. This time of year I usually switch to whiskey and such. I have been making martinis more since I learned that dry vermouth can be used in place of white wine when cooking. I used to feel bad buying it because so much went to waste on account of my liver would give out if I had to use up an entire bottle of vermouth on martinis before the flavor went off.

  289. 289.

    Elizabelle

    October 15, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    @Leto:   I know.  Insane.

  290. 290.

    Leto

    October 15, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    @WaterGirl: cha-ching!

     

    @Omnes Omnibus: True, true.

  291. 291.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 15, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    I thought Biden did fine. Didn’t watch a second of Trump but I’m sure Joe was miles better than Cheeto Benito.

  292. 292.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I was just gonna ask when did the fucking giant arrow on the bottom right become a thing?

    @Kropacetic:

    It was a damn good year.

  293. 293.

    Redshift

    October 15, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    @mad citizen:

    There was an obvious planted question for trump from a woman: “Corporate tax rate is a hot button issue
” What?

    Anand Giridharadas on Twitter ID’ed her as a Senior VP for Wealth Management at UBS.

  294. 294.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 9:36 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    @Kent:

    Yes, that’s true. However, how can there be any guarantee that the underground sealed containers of nuclear waste will not leak into the surrounding soil and water table at some point thousands of years from now? We would only be giving our future descendants one more headache to deal with; especially if our civilization falls and another less advanced civilization takes our place.

    My solution would be to bury it in the deep ocean subduction zone trenches where it will be sucked into the earth’s mantle and be disintegrated.    Sea water is actually an extremely effective radiation barrier.   We don’t actually consider doing that because it isn’t reasonably retrievable and that was one of the criteria for nuclear waste storage.  That we can get it back if we change our minds or develop new technologies.

  295. 295.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 9:38 pm

    @Baud:

    Technologically less advanced than we are as well as not having a scientific understanding of radioactivity. They wouldn’t understand what they’re dealing with. I assume nuclear waste is disposed of in geologically stable areas

  296. 296.

    Subcommandante Yakbreath

    October 15, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: I graduated in 1970. Small world…

  297. 297.

    Skepticat

    October 15, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    @Redshift: He’s doing fine, but these Trumper questioners they’ve dredged up (they have to be polite, but still) are unbearable.

    I thought that all but the one asking him to applaud tRump’s foreign policy were decent. (And that classy guy walked out early.) Even those who asked pointed questions—which are the point of an actual debate—sometimes ended up nodding in agreement with much of what Joe said. I was very pleased with how well he handled less than fawning questions as well as all the others.

  298. 298.

    Jerry

    October 15, 2020 at 9:39 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I thought Biden did fine. Didn’t watch a second of Trump but I’m sure Joe was miles better than Cheeto Benito.

    Yup, he did a fine job. It was a reminder of how a politician answers questions. He stuck to his talking points and related to people on a personal level. It was refreshing to see.

  299. 299.

    Subcommandante Yakbreath

    October 15, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Thanks! : )

  300. 300.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I am usually able to find a 375ml bottle of Noilly Prat, although for some reason I have Martini & Rossi right now. Dunno what’s up with that. Not a big vermouth snob.

  301. 301.

    Mary G

    October 15, 2020 at 9:43 pm

    @Jerry: He’s still in the studio, wearing a mask, and talking to the few audience members, also wearing masks, from a good distance. What a way to model good behavior.

  302. 302.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    I had to go do something constructive. Josh Marshall’s twitter says Trump, or some Trumpster, is shitting all over Mr. Rogers. WTF? Is that true, if so, how did that happen?

  303. 303.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    October 15, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    @jl: Mercedes Something tweeted that watching Biden was like watching Mr Rogers (only she spelled it “Rodgers”). It was supposed to be an insult I guess.

  304. 304.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 15, 2020 at 9:46 pm

    @Steeplejack: Yeah I get the smaller bottles of Martini & Rossi. Not a vermouth snob either, at least in martinis. Got a buddy who is particular about the sweet vermouth his Manhattans are made with

  305. 305.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:47 pm

    @Subcommandante Yakbreath:

    My family moved to Dover from Philly in 1970.

  306. 306.

    Humanities Prof

    October 15, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: It’s sort of funny the things that these people think are insulting.

    I’m thinking that after the last four years, the idea of President Mister Rogers would sound pretty damn appealing to a lot of Americans (at least those of us old enough to know who Mr. Rogers is, anyway).

  307. 307.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:48 pm

    @jl: @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Oh yeah, Schlapp is getting dragged.

    I’d like to congratulate Ms. Schlapp on demonstrating the Twitter equivalent of acid reflux.

    Joe and Joanne Rogers had a lovely meeting together.

    Joanne Rogers criticized President Trump in an interview earlier this month and described herself as a “very big Biden fan.”

  308. 308.

    TheflipPsyd

    October 15, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    @Jeffro: Grew up in Philadelphia so we went “down the shore” but after we moving here, we try to go to the beach as much as possible. Cape Henlopen State Park is our favorite. Miss it so much. Haven’t  been to the beach since before the pandemic.  Actually, who am I kidding? — I haven’t been further than ten miles from my home since March 13th.

  309. 309.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    I have always remembered that one liquor-geek site, in its review of vermouths, said that Martini & Rossi gives you the “classic airport martini.” So there’s that. ? No complaints from me.

  310. 310.

    Jerry

    October 15, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    @Mary G:

    @Jerry: He’s still in the studio, wearing a mask, and talking to the few audience members, also wearing masks, from a good distance. What a way to model good behavior.

    Yeah, I’m seeing that on Twitter. That’s pretty darn awesome.

  311. 311.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: @HumboldtBlue:  OK thanks. Stupid and nasty and gratuitous, but not quite as much as I expected. So, I am pleasantly surprised.

  312. 312.

    Mary G

    October 15, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    Joni Ernst getting slapped around by the moderator in her debate tonight:

    While everyone’s paying attention to the presidential town halls, the biggest moment in the #IASen race just happened in their final debate: pic.twitter.com/Ru3Qwyv8iv— Pat Rynard (@patrynard) October 16, 2020

    Asked her the current price of corn or soybeans, she says $5.50; he says it’s $10.00+. Greenfield just sitting there laughing at her. Sad!

  313. 313.

    Marcopolo

    October 15, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    A little OT but I just saw a Cindy McCain Biden ad. It was outstanding!

    As to the town halls, I watched Biden’s. I think he did fine. His answers were not as crisp as they could have been but they were comprehensive, showed he had a good grasp & deep knowledge of important issues.

    My favorite response was to the guy who wanted Biden to give Trump credit for foreign policy successes. You could see from his facial expression that he did not like Biden setting him straight.

  314. 314.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    @TheflipPsyd:

    Man, I spent a lot of time at Cape Henlopen.

  315. 315.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    @Mary G: I think they were talking about breakeven price. Looking like you don’t have a clue about that is much worse than not knowing the current price.

  316. 316.

    The Moar You Know

    October 15, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    Yes, that’s true. However, how can there be any guarantee that the underground sealed containers of nuclear waste will not leak into the surrounding soil and water table at some point thousands of years from now? We would only be giving our future descendants one more headache to deal with; especially if our civilization falls and another less advanced civilization takes our place

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):  it’s not stored in containers.  Nuclear waste can be safely contained for millions of years, not that it needs to be; most of it, within several hundred years, is no more radioactive than the ore it was mined from in the first place.

    As Kent said, it’s a political problem, not a scientific or safety problem.

  317. 317.

    Subcommandante Yakbreath

    October 15, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: That had to be some culture shock. Dover’s still pretty sleepy for a state capitol.

  318. 318.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 15, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    @Steeplejack: Not sure if Airport Martini is supposed to be an insult – once upon a time air travel was glamorous, so it could be a compliment, or at least not an insult.

  319. 319.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    @Mary G: I wonder if farmers, in places like Iowa, watch these things more than other people do. Does anyone know?

    From personal experience, I know they listen through endless droning ag marketing reports during early breakfast. I remember one for stone fruits  that started at 5AM. Then there was one on hay and dairy feed crops. So it occurred to me that farmers are more willing to put up with these shows than others.

  320. 320.

    Ohio Mom

    October 15, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    I started watching Biden late and I missed some because I was trying to keep up with this thread but what impressed me is how carefully Biden tailored his answers to the people who asked them.

    He had to know that insurance salesman with his question about World peace is breaking outsell over, isn’t Trump great? was playing back Fox News talking points.

    Biden started by bringing up lots of different aspects of foreign relations (as if to say, That’s a mighty incomplete view of things you got there bub), threw in a very small bone about Israel, and made the point that there are more soldiers in Afghanistan than when he left the Vice Presidency very casually, just a tangental by-the-way.

    He was so gentle with that insurance salesman, even as he shredded him to bits.

    For the PT with the transgender daughter and the gentleman who wanted to know what Biden would continue to do with his platform if he (god forbid) loses, Biden was frank, genuine, unguarded, warm.

    Don’t know if I believe the story about the gay couple being so out back in Biden’s high school days though. Weren’t gay PDAs illegal back then? Not that I think one small tall tale matters.

  321. 321.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    It was weird. I don’t think it was an insult—I thought I detected a bit of a Rat Pack/​Ultralounge vibe in that part of the article—but it came out of left field in this ultra-geeky discussion of esoteric vermouths that I’d never heard of, much less seen in the wild.

  322. 322.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    From the American Chemical Society: 

    Highly radioactive waste, often called high-level waste, comes mainly in two forms. One is leftover fuels that were used in nuclear power plants to generate electricity. The other is the waste made by facilities involved in nuclear weapons production or by facilities that reprocess and recycle used power plant fuel.

    All these wastes can remain dangerously radioactive for many thousands of years. For that reason, they must be disposed of permanently, experts say.

    Thousands of years. And I was talking about whatever means would be used to permanently store this waste. I imagine it would be a lot like landfill with special lining

  323. 323.

    Goku (Amerikan Baka)

    October 15, 2020 at 10:01 pm

    @Kent:

    That sounds like it might be a good solution? So long as it doesn’t kill any ocean wildlife

  324. 324.

    chopper

    October 15, 2020 at 10:01 pm

    @LuciaMia: 

    Trump seems a tad
manic

    mah nishtanah?

  325. 325.

    Jay

    October 15, 2020 at 10:04 pm

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):

    and the slight problem that it’s not affordable with out massive public subsidies through out the whole life cycle of the reactor, and of course from the digging of the raw ore out of the ground, to the end when you bury the waste back in the ground, hoping the leaks only kill workers slowly.

    Etc.

  326. 326.

    Mary G

    October 15, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    @jl: You remember correctly:

    i am from NE – those prices are all over the news, all the time. It really isn’t arcane knowledge there.— Lisa Glass (@LMplusG) October 16, 2020

    ETA:

    I'm pretty sure this question is on the kindergarten entrance exam in Iowa.— Nick Vucic (@npv708) October 16, 2020

  327. 327.

    Jay

    October 15, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    @Kent:

    Hanford disagrees.

  328. 328.

    The Moar You Know

    October 15, 2020 at 10:07 pm

    Thousands of years. And I was talking about whatever means would be used to permanently store this waste. I imagine it would be a lot like landfill with special lining

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka):  No.  it’s called “vitrification”.   I’ll let you look up the details.  Quite effective.  Lasts millions of years.  But reactor waste is a small percentage of our overall nuclear waste stream, which, again, has a danger span of hundreds of years, not thousands.

  329. 329.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 10:08 pm

    @TheflipPsyd:

    I can hear the accent you typed that in.

  330. 330.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    October 15, 2020 at 10:08 pm

    @Steeplejack: I might try something better if I can find it in a small bottle but I’d much rather skimp on vermouth than gin.

  331. 331.

    HumboldtBlue

    October 15, 2020 at 10:11 pm

    @Subcommandante Yakbreath:

    It was for my older brothers and sisters, I was just starting out.

    Dad is a Philly native mom from Jersey.

  332. 332.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    October 15, 2020 at 10:12 pm

     

     

    @Goku (Amerikan Baka): not necessarily. Look up the Hanford Reservation in Richland, Washington   then lookup Cascadia Subduction zone….

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/welcome-most-toxic-place-america-n689141

  333. 333.

    Matt McIrvin

    October 15, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: My parents used to go to Lewes every summer. Eventually they moved to Colonial Beach, VA, a place with a sort of Lewes-like vibe though it’s on the Potomac rather than the ocean.

  334. 334.

    jl

    October 15, 2020 at 10:15 pm

    @Mary G: Thanks, there is no drone like an agricultural report drone.

    I should curse them because waking up early in the morning as a tyke, I heard the words ‘futures market’ and ‘options strike price’, and wonder if that lead me down the wrong path in life

    Edit: I watched the clip, and I think the disaster was that Ernst looked like she didn’t even understand what the words meant, far worse than getting the ‘current’ price wrong (doesn’t even mean much, spot price, current forward or futures price?). But going blank on breakeven price? She deserves to lose the farm vote on just that alone

    Edit: but what I am curious about is if the farm audience is more likely to watch these political talkythons? I know farmers know the crop prices by heart, and they are always running through their heads.

  335. 335.

    zhena gogolia

    October 15, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    If your vote for Biden hinges on any answer he might give about fracking or transgender issues or, really, any answer at all about almost any policy issue, then you're just not taking the stakes in the election seriously enough.— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) October 16, 2020

  336. 336.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:19 pm

    Goddamn it, Lawrence O’Donnell is running off the rails on the question of what Joe Biden wants to do about the Supreme Court! He played a clip of George Stephanopoulos trying to pin down Biden—which Biden handled well—and then O’Donnell started hammering the Biden campaign spokeswoman on his show about the same thing. “Don’t the American people have a right to know his position?” Unusually stupid for O’Donnell.

    I wish someone would tell these nimrods that Biden is keeping his tactical lines open and that there’s no need for him to telegraph ahead of time what he—with the advice and consent of Nancy Pelosi and, I hope, a Senate majority—plans to do next year.

  337. 337.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:23 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    Seconded. A winning strategy!

  338. 338.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:30 pm

    I’m glad I saw so little of the town halls. Just the short clips of George Stephanopoulos that Lawrence O’Donnell is showing are making my blood boil. Serenity now!

  339. 339.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:32 pm

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?:

    Okay, I finally broke out the Hendrick’s. Mixed it with some Schweppervescence for that classic airport G&T. Good times.

  340. 340.

    Ohio Mom

    October 15, 2020 at 10:33 pm

    Steeplejack:

    All this questioning of Biden, asking him if he will “pack the court” is doing a disservice by dis-educating the public. It’s not up to the President, it’s Congress’s call.

    I wish Biden would point this out more clearly. He did have a good answer to the question, “Would he go after Trump?” “No, that’s up to the Department of Justice. Who are not the President’s private lawyers.”

  341. 341.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:38 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Dang, I love Colonial Beach! Only been there once, and that was, jeez, over 10 years ago now, but I really liked the vibe. I remember thinking “This could be Rehoboth Beach before it got popular.” It’s high on my list of places to look at if by some miracle I win the lotto. I should drive down there for a day trip to check it out now.

    My brother has a nice house in Rehoboth Beach, and I enjoy going down there, although I haven’t been in over a year. He and his gay posse have 30 years’ worth of memories of going to Rehoboth from D.C, ever since they all came to the big city and started their careers. That was the beach town they sort of took over, at least in terms of not getting a lot of homophobia and finding some measure of acceptance. Not nearly as much of an issue now, of course.

  342. 342.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:41 pm

    @Matt McIrvin:

    If you ever get back to Lewes, there is a f’mazeballs Mexican restaurant there called Agave. Five Steep stars.

  343. 343.

    WaterGirl

    October 15, 2020 at 10:43 pm

    @Ohio Mom: They are so interested in playing gotcha in the hopes of getting a scoop that they have forgotten the fucking plot.  They have forgotten that there’s a madman, literally and figuratively, in the white house.

  344. 344.

    James E Powell

    October 15, 2020 at 10:44 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    As Kent said, it’s a political problem, not a scientific or safety problem.

    It’s a political problem because it is an understanding of science problems. Medical profession had to drop the word nuclear from nuclear magnetic resonance imaging because patients were afraid to do it.

    The word nuclear conjures up nightmare scenarios shown in a lot of movies, TV series, books, over the years. We don’t trust “industry” scientists because they are always going to say that whatever the industry wants to do make money is no problem.

  345. 345.

    Steeplejack

    October 15, 2020 at 10:46 pm

    @jl:

    You triggered a childhood memory there. I remember when we visited my grandparents in rural Tennessee my grandfather was always up at the crack of dawn with the snowy black-and-white TV tuned to the morning farm report. He would listen to the seemingly incomprehensible drone and then abruptly switch off in the middle of a sentence—after he heard whatever he was listening for. At various times they raised cows, corn or tobacco—sometimes a combination.

  346. 346.

    Citizen Alan

    October 15, 2020 at 10:51 pm

    @Baud: If Justice Serena Joy gets her way, I’m pretty sure the Republic of Gilead will have no plans for dealing with nuclear waste leaking into the ground water beyond praying harder.

  347. 347.

    Kent

    October 15, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    @Jay:

    @Kent:

    Hanford disagrees.

    Water is an excellent radiation barrier.  What happened at Hanford was the waste itself leaked out of the all the temporary wartime storage containers and penetrated into the ground water.  Separate issue.

    Hardened containers of waste send deep into the ocean subduction zones and buried deep into the ocean sediments would have none of those issues.  There isn’t groundwater down there and it is an extremely stable environment.  Long-term (geological time) it will slowly disappear into the earth’s mantle.   We don’t do it because it would violate international treaties and would be to difficult to retrieve if we ever changed our minds.  So political issues.  But strictly speaking on geological terms that would be the best place on earth to put it.

  348. 348.

    Mai Naem mobile

    October 15, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    @Quinerly: don’t be surprised about Guthrie being good. She’s a grad of Georgetown Law school and had the top score in Arizona  for the State Bar exam the year she took it – she grew up in Tucson and did her undergrad at the U of AZ.

  349. 349.

    Another Scott

    October 15, 2020 at 11:39 pm

    @Sayne: Um, one can buy a huge amount of solar panels and wind turbines (and quite a bit of power storage) for the life-cycle cost of one nuclear power plant.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  350. 350.

    SFAW

    October 16, 2020 at 12:00 am

    This headline from CNN.com:

    “Van Jones gives this Biden answer a D- minus.”

    Shocked, shocked, I tells ya.

  351. 351.

    Soprano2

    October 16, 2020 at 12:44 am

    Boy, Guthrie sure didn’t let him get away with anything! No wonder all the right wingers are pissed about it. He didn’t answer any questions at all as far as I can tell.

  352. 352.

    J R in WV

    October 16, 2020 at 11:51 am

    @dmsilev:

    October 15, 2020 at 8:45 pm

    @mad citizen:

    He says he is extremely under levered, and took some loans as favors when institutions wanted to loan him money.

    Sounds plausible.

    Well, wife and I do get phone calls from people who want to sell us money. Even Chase Bank. But we have a great credit score, have never declared bankruptcy!

    Trump, I wouldn’t loan him the old junk truck that broke down up on the ridge!

  353. 353.

    J R in WV

    October 16, 2020 at 12:57 pm

    @dmsilev:

    October 15, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    I can always tell when the next thread is by Adam, because the arrow widget over on the right side of the page is almost a whole screen in height


    Oh, yeah, that’s why that’s so weird, Adam’s title runs on FOREVER!! Which is OK, just interesting.

  354. 354.

    J R in WV

    October 16, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    @jl:

    From personal experience, I know they listen through endless droning ag marketing reports during early breakfast. I remember one for stone fruits that started at 5AM. Then there was one on hay and dairy feed crops. So it occurred to me that farmers are more willing to put up with these shows than others.

    To a farmer, those droning AG reports tell them whether they can expect to make a profit on their crops this year, or not.

    They are like listening to someone tell you about your pay check for the next six months, if your paycheck was variable, depending upon the weather and many other things completely out of your control.

  355. 355.

    J R in WV

    October 16, 2020 at 1:37 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    No. it’s called “vitrification”. I’ll let you look up the details. Quite effective. Lasts millions of years. But reactor waste is a small percentage of our overall nuclear waste stream, which, again, has a danger span of hundreds of years, not thousands.

    And now random anonymous guy on the Intertubes knows more better than the American Chemical Society? Sure thing, pal standing at the end of the bar!

    I’m personally sorry to hear that the Japanese will be allowing contaminated water from their worse than dead power plant into the Pacific ocean. Better “vitrified” and dumped into a subduction zone, but Japan won’t be doing that, just dumping it into the ocean. Yum. Sushi with spice! Glow in the dark spice!

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