I thought Tony was kicked off the site for this stupid shit. Ya have to wonder if God is sending the hurricanes....
https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-media-blitz-plan-1966153 Kamala Harris' Media Blitz Is Not Going to Plan Published Oct 09, 2024 at 5:36 AM EDT Vice President Kamala Harris sought to help voters get to know her better by sitting for a number of interviews over the past few days—but things have not quite gone to plan. Harris has attracted criticism for largely avoiding giving sit-down interviews to mainstream media, and the tough questions that come with them, since replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. Her media blitz, which included appearances on CBS' 60 Minutes and Late Show With Stephen Colbert and ABC's The View, as well as Howard Stern's radio show and Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, is an effort to reach as many undecided voters as possible with four weeks to go before Election Day. Polls show that the race between Harris and former President Donald Trump remains incredibly close. Newsweek has contacted the Harris and Trump campaigns on Wednesday for comment via email. Vice President Kamala Harris sought to help voters get to know her better by sitting for a number of interviews over the past few days—but things have not quite gone to plan. Harris has attracted criticism for largely avoiding giving sit-down interviews to mainstream media, and the tough questions that come with them, since replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket. Her media blitz, which included appearances on CBS' 60 Minutes and Late Show With Stephen Colbert and ABC's The View, as well as Howard Stern's radio show and Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, is an effort to reach as many undecided voters as possible with four weeks to go before Election Day. Polls show that the race between Harris and former President Donald Trump remains incredibly close. Newsweek has contacted the Harris and Trump campaigns on Wednesday for comment via email. "This week showed why Harris's staff was previously shielding her from doing impromptu interviews with the media," Thomas Gift, an associate professor of political science and director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, told Newsweek. "To put it charitably, answering adversarial questions on the fly isn't her strong suit. Republicans (and even some journalists) were piling on Harris for previously not doing any sit-down interviews. Right now, her inner circle is likely wishing Harris had continued to take the heat for that, rather than facing the wave of criticism that's hit her this week." In a 60 Minutes interview that aired Monday, Harris faced tough questions on a number of topics, including immigration, the economy and the Middle East. In a tense moment, Harris was asked if she regretted the Biden administration's early decision to loosen immigration policies, given that it led to an influx of migrants. She defended the administration's approach, saying: "It's a long-standing problem, and solutions are at hand, and from Day One, literally, we have been offering solutions." Her presidential challenger was also invited to sit for an interview with 60 Minutes, but CBS News said the Trump campaign later backed out. The Republican's spokesman Steven Cheung denied that he had ever agreed to be interviewed on 60 Minutes. On Tuesday, Harris' appearance on The View showed that even appearances on friendlier shows can be tricky to navigate. Asked how she would be different from Biden, Harris said, "we're obviously two different people," and she then struggled to identify a single situation where she would have acted differently. "There is not a thing that comes to mind," the vice president added. Republicans have seized on that response, with Trump on social media calling it her "dumbest answer so far" and saying she "was being exposed as a 'dummy' every time she does a show." Later on in the show, Harris identified something she would do differently to the president she has served under for four years, saying that she would put a Republican in her Cabinet. Her answer demonstrated the difficulty that Harris has faced in portraying herself as a candidate who can deliver change for Americans since entering the race less than three months ago while also remaining loyal to Biden. Hours before the show, a New York Times/Siena poll had found she was more likely than Trump to represent change. Chris Cillizza, a political commentator, called Harris' answer "an unforced error" that could be detrimental to her campaign, given that a majority of Americans do not approve of Biden's handling of issues such as immigration and the economy. "In a single sentence, she, on camera, owned every policy Biden has pushed over the last four years," Cillizza wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "It's a ready-made TV ad for Donald Trump. A gift. And it's an unforced error by Harris. One she can't have in this final month with the race so close." Harris was asked a similar question during a taping of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, which aired on Tuesday night. Asked what the major changes would be if she were elected president, Harris avoided giving specifics. "I'm obviously not Joe Biden, so that would be one change," she said, then added that she is also not Trump. Meanwhile, Harris' appearance on Call Her Daddy, which is popular with young women and known for its frank discussions about sex and relationship, sparked a backlash on social media. Cooper, the podcast's host, lost followers after the interview was posted online on Sunday. Some listeners accused her of peddling propaganda for the Democratic Party and were critical that the administration's response to Hurricane Helene wasn't discussed, while others said they did not want to see political content from her.
'Thanks, Joe!' Is Biden's Farewell Tour Helping Donald Trump? Published Oct 09, 2024 at 5:00 AM EDT If Donald Trump wins the U.S. election in November, he might be expected to thank a few people who helped him along the way. Those nods of appreciation have begun already, it seems, with the Trump campaign telling Newsweek that President Joe Biden's recent efforts warrant particular thanks. As Biden spends his final months as commander-in-chief on a valedictory tour of the U.S., touting his administration's accomplishments, the former president is convinced the appearances are less-than-helpful for Kamala Harris. According to some prominent political operatives, he is not alone in this belief. Karl Rove warned in an op-ed last month that Biden's tour has become a rouse for Trump, pulling attention away from Vice President Kamala Harris and reminding voters of the past four years. "It's good," a Trump campaign official told Newsweek. "More Biden is good for us." There is speculation that Biden's appearances in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan—three of the most critical battleground states in November's election—were paved by an early decision from the Harris campaign. Last week, after Biden attended his first White House briefing at the same time as Harris' campaign stop in Detroit, the Trump campaign sent a press release thanking Biden for "upstag[ing]" Harris and "ensuring the eyes of the world were on him, not Kamala." During the briefing, Biden had told reporters that he and Harris were "singing from the same song sheet" and called his VP "a major player in everything we've done." "Biden wanted to make it crystal clear that Kamala is tethered to every single one of his failures — and it worked," the Trump campaign said. "THANKS, JOE! Biden Upstages Kamala, Ties Her To Their Disastrous Record," the subject line of the email read. Biden has suffered low approval ratings over the last three years. Although he enjoyed relatively high marks when he was first inaugurated—only 30 percent of Americans disapproved of his job—his standings fell underwater after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. FiveThirtyEight shows that in the last year, Biden has struggled to pull his approval rating above 20 percent. As of Tuesday, 54 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the presidency. The Trump official called Biden's recent media appearances a "self-inflicted error" that resulted from the Harris campaign's decision to "hide" the Democratic nominee and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, from the press. Their absence created a media gap that Newsweek's source said Biden went on to fill. "If Biden still happens to be president, there are major national events and disasters happening on his watch...that's going to need to be addressed," they said. Hurricane Helene has forced Harris to share the TV screen with Biden, who addressed damage from the Roosevelt Room while Harris visited FEMA headquarters. Biden and Harris have also taken separate trips to the storm zone, with the president making two stops in North Carolina on Wednesday. His vice president traveled to Georgia to survey the damage. "Voters don't have an unlimited attention span. Nor does the media have an infinite amount of space to cover every campaign pronouncement," Rove, who served as a senior adviser to former President George W. Bush, wrote. Harris' campaign did not respond to Newsweek's repeated requests for comment. In stepping aside as the nominee, Biden passed the torch to Harris - but against a backdrop of Democrats who had been casting doubt over his ability to serve a second term. In August, Politico reported that Biden harbored frustration against former President Barack Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer. Pelosi herself admitted that after five decades of friendship with the president, she and Biden were no longer on speaking terms. Citing reports that Biden was not happy about his exit from the race, the Trump official suspects that Biden directed his team to get him out in front of the public and to not "sideline him and lock him in a closet and pretend he doesn't exist." "There's actual tension between the campaign and the White House right now, and I think it's bubbling up," the campaign insider said. Rove said that given Biden's remarkable unpopularity, it would be difficult for the president to strengthen the case for his vice president. "This tour sounds like a cry for attention by an unpopular incumbent," Rove wrote. Political pundit and author Steve Schier agreed that more Biden would be no help to Harris. "His increased public presence complicates and muddles Harris' messaging and attempts by her to 'turn the page' and suggest that she is 'a fresh start,'" Schier told Newsweek. Rove warned in his op-ed that Biden risks making the same mistake he made last year when he went on his "Bidenomics" victory tour. The president not only traveled across the country but also abroad to promote his economic agenda. Even with a catchy name, Biden's policies failed to impress Americans, who consistently expressed skepticism about the state of the economy and concern about inflation in the polls. Rove said that Biden's happy talk annoyed the public last time and that this time, in a "pre-election farewell tour" focused on his accomplishments, the president won't be able to help himself from "vastly oversell[ing] his record—aggravating voters all over again." "This near the election, the contenders are fighting for inches. Mr. Biden may give Mr. Trump a couple," the Republican strategist added. "At this point, take it where you can get it." Trump's campaign couldn't agree more. "From our perspective, we've got them right where we want them," an official with the former president's campaign told Newsweek.
"I'm voting for Jill Stein so I have no bias." LOLololol Nothing but hate for Harris, advice for Don The Con and voting wink, wink for Stein but noooooooooo bias..
Am I supposed to argue that VP Harris doing worse than Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton in every way is a positive for VP Harris? Am I supposed to argue that VP Harris saying she would do nothing different than Biden when Biden has had one of the most disastrous presidency's in history and is the reason Trump is getting a 2nd term is a good thing?
A little to late. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4922690-democrats-nervous-kamala-harris-campaign/ Democrats start to hit the panic button by Amie Parnes - 10/09/24 6:00 AM ET Democrats’ nerves are at an all-time high. Two months ago — even a month ago — they were feeling bullish about Vice President Harris’s prospects of defeating former President Trump. But now, with less than a month to go until Election Day, they’re increasingly worried about a number of issues plaguing the Democratic nominee’s campaign. On Tuesday, there was grumbling from some Democrats about the vice president’s interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” There’s also concern on everything from the static poll numbers in the race to the vice president’s messaging and even her standing with men — not just white men but Black and Hispanic men, too.
I live in a swing state, North Carolina, and just about every ad on TV now is political advertising. I can't wait for this election to be over so we can get back to our regular ads for feminine hygiene products and specialty drugs with an endless scrolling list of possible side-effects. The one candidate noticeably not running ads in North Carolina now is Mark Robinson, the GOP candidate for governor with lots of controversy. All of his backers have pulled his funding for advertising. But its not like his image and words are in any way missing on TV -- the opposition campaign for Josh Stein is simply using attack ads where they play video clips of Robinson -- so it's not like we escape from Robinson's insanity either. 'It's non-stop': Swing state voters bombarded with ads - will they make a difference? https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gl013w4e8o