Who Really Won the DeSantis/Newsom Debate

And Other Short Takes on the News

It was no contest if you ask Ron DeSantis supporters who won the debate. He did. Fans of DeSantis, like Ben Shapiro, highlighted all of his best moments, like the poop map that showed actual human feces on the streets of San Francisco, and concluded his answers were better (they were), his preparation was better (it was). But that mean he actually won?

Joe Concha told the DeSantis supporters what they wanted to hear by saying the debate destroyed Newsom’s chances as a viable candidate to Joe Biden.

As for DeSantis, he showed a preparedness and a likability that haven't shone through in the GOP primary debates, which often have felt rushed and overcrowded with candidates who are polling in the low single digits. It makes one imagine what a DeSantis-Biden debate would look and sound like, given the president's struggles in speaking outside of scripted teleprompter remarks and his own record that has him polling at the lowest point of his presidency.

DeSantis v. Newsom: It was a refreshing night of policy sparring on cable news. 

For the California governor, he might have sealed his own fate as to being the alternative to Joe Biden with an underwhelming, truth-challenged performance. There's still a long way to go, but Newsom showed on Thursday night that one can only get so far on smiles alone.

Meanwhile, according to many on the Left, Newsom wiped up the floor with DeSantis. This, according to the Sacramento Bee and other outlets.

So if both sides are taking credit for the win, who actually did “win” if such a thing can be measured? Leave it to Dave Marcus to put it plainly:

I can’t stand Gavin Newsom. I voted Republican for the first and only time in my life to recall him. He’s a liar and a phony. I wanted DeSantis to do better. I have wanted DeSantis to do better for months now. I want the Democrats voted out of power for a generation, and I don’t want a close election. I want a 1972 landslide.

But.

Here’s the sad and awful truth: if we are now a nation that chooses our candidates based on their on-camera charisma, Newsom was the winner. We’re weak as a species. We fall easily, and we fall hard, for charisma. We will forgive a person almost everything if they have it.

I wish I could say DeSantis had it. But he doesn’t. I wish I could say Newsom didn’t have it. But he does. That’s the truth, even if it makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

DeSantis has the stronger case to make: the Democrats have failed at keeping us safe and making us happier; they’re destroying the minds of our children. They’re wrecking our beautiful cities and our history. They’re dividing us, demonizing half the country, and have nothing to sell but fear.

Newsom could deflect all of it because most people reacted to his on-camera charisma and nothing else. This is true even if you disagree with the premise that you didn’t notice it, don’t see it, and think DeSantis won the debate. Charisma will always beat non-charisma. It’s one of the laws of nature.

I expect Newsom wanted to debate DeSantis for that reason alone, to show voters that he’s the one Democrat, other than Obama, that actually has charisma. He doesn’t, however, have more charisma than Trump, who would easily beat Newsom in a side-by-side.

Charisma can’t always save you, of course. When Donald Trump first debated Joe Biden, he made a strategic error in going on offense. Biden’s superpower against Trump was that he was old and feeble. No one likes to watch anyone beat up on an old and feeble man. Had Trump just eased back and been gentler with Biden, he would have wound him up, and Biden would have come off as the more unhinged of the two.

Charisma was the deciding factor with DeSantis and Newsom because they were more or less equal in age; both are good-looking governors of powerful states, and they spent the entire time squabbling. They talked over each other so much that the debate in substance was a wash. Thus, it came down to charisma as the deciding factor. In my opinion.

Lady Ballers review is up on HollywoodWoketopia if you are interested.

Nikki Haley gets big money from Koch network - Will it Matter?

Here is CNN’s Harry Enten explaining why the Koch network is about to dump billions into the Haley campaign:

Steve Bannon said on the War Room that the bigger plan is to ram Haley through as the Veep to return the GOP to the neocons.

Will it make a difference? Haley is tough on Israel, and that might motivate some Democrats who would never vote for Trump to cast their lot in Haley’s direction, not to mention the grotesque Never Trumpers.

Here’s the problem. Those who seem to think we can all move on from Trump are really not seeing the bigger picture. What the “regime” has done to Trump demands we rise up and put a stop to it. Nikki Haley isn’t going to do that. DeSantis might, but his chances are slipping.

As Tucker Carlson explains to Roseanne, we’re dealing with something more important than just a political election, and if that pisses off the billionaires, so what.

This can’t be the United States of America, where an abuse of power is allowed to behave like a monarchy, police its citizens, weaponize its DOJ and its judiciary, and take liberties no Republican, including Nixon, including Trump, would have ever done.

This is the moment when Americans have to stand up and say ENOUGH.

It doesn’t matter how I vote, as I live in California. Maybe I’ll move to Ohio before the election to vote in a swing state. Kidding (not kidding). Ultimately, though, this choice is easy for me to make. Even if I disagree with Trump’s policies (the death penalty for drug dealers, for instance), I believe his supporters are owed a second term after what happened in the 2020 election.

But even more than that, I believe the American people must push back against this blatant abuse of power. There is only one way to do that. Trump 2024.

Trump’s Veep will make or break his electability since he can only serve one term. My advice would be not to pander to any group - but to pick the best person to serve the next two terms after Trump steps down. It should not be anyone deemed “radical.”

I don’t think it should be a woman — too risky of a bet — but it should be someone the American people trust more than they trust Trump. That would be a winning ticket. I like Vivek Ramaswamy because he has a bold vision for the future that can reach out to young people. I like JD Vance. It can’t be DeSantis because they’re both from Florida. Tulsi Gabbard would be my personal choice.

I would still support Trump if Haley was the Veep but she will have to be clear about how she feels about our weaponized DOJ. Where does she stand on that?

Last Day of Road Trip

I spent the night in Vegas, baby, and I’m returning to California. I have always loved driving across the country. I didn’t see as many Trump lawn signs as usual, though I did see one that would be visible from outer space that said, “God Bless the American Flag.” When you move closer to it, in smaller letters at the top, “God Bless Donald Trump.”

That’s the thing about Trump. There is no other politician in my lifetime that people out there in America love that much.

Here are some pictures from the road, including my daughter's beautiful baked pies.

Until next we meet, enjoy your Sunday.

Las Vegas, 8:23am.