re: #206 Jay C

I’m gonna disagree: despite you and I (and most Lizards, I’m sure) looking on Trump’s foreign policy as an embarrassing shitshow, I think- as far as public opinion goes - it’s the one last vague, flimsy straw he has to cling on to to try to even remotely appear “Presidential”, and he’s going to try - one would imagine - to flog it for everything it’s worth in a debate.

Of course, it’s likely to be the usual simpleminded boilerplate (“I love Israel! I hate China! I love Saudi Arabia! I hate Iran!) and its mindless corollary (“Joe hates Israel! Joe loves China! Joe hates the Saudis! Joe loves Iran!”) , plus the usual fan favorites about “open borders” and “MS-13 gang caravans” and whatever, but the big problem for Biden and rhe Democrats is that this shit plays well in the “heartland”; and given that the “MSM” is probably going to pathetically grasp at that same, last, pathetic straw as the last chance for a “Presidential pivot”, a FP-centered debate is not going to be the runaway it should…

discussing foreign policy requires depth of knowledge

- is Iran now closer to building a nuclear weapon
- how did pulling out of the Paris accord make the US seen by the rest of the world.
- what does NATO think of us
- why cant Americans go to other countries.
- how has tourism and college enrollment fallen way down because of Trump’s policies and Covid-19.
- the trade deficit is at a record high, even though trump said he was going to cut it.
- this admin’s miserable failures in Syria.

- we can even go into Russias interference in our elections, and the current investigation into Russian dissemination of disinformation

- oh, want to bring up Hunter biden? well then, Ukraine what Trump was impeached for, and why so many people from the State department have left.

and he’s got no real wins w/r/t israel. moving the embassy? normalized relations with bahrain? meh.

joe would eat him alive