Countdown to Extinction: The 2016 Presidential Election

[Todd]

What Do Donald Trump Voters Actually Want?

I believe prospective voters would be a better headline, given that nary a vote has been cast yet.  I mean, what if it is learned that Mr Trump kills kittens?

[Karl Henning]

I believe prospective voters would be a better headline, given that nary a vote has been cast yet.  I mean, what if it is learned that Mr Trump kills kittens?

Perfectly fair (your qualification, not Trump's unpredictable violence).

[Brian]

I believe prospective voters would be a better headline, given that nary a vote has been cast yet.  I mean, what if it is learned that Mr Trump kills kittens?

Those bastard kittens opened a factory in China.

[Todd]

In other Trump related news, he lost his TV job to an immigrant!

[Karl Henning]

The day's dose of surrealism:

Hillary Clinton says Bill for Veep has 'crossed her mind.'

[Ken B]

The day's dose of surrealism:

Hillary Clinton says Bill for Veep has 'crossed her mind.'

This confirms my impression of Hillary's competence and respect for the law.

[Todd]

The day's dose of surrealism:

As delightful as a Clinton/Clinton ticket would be from an election cycle/entertainment perspective, I'm not certain the CSM analysis of the 22nd Amendment is entirely correct or complete as it relates to the VP's most important job: Standby.  There is more to the first part of the 22nd Amendment, like everything in bold: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once."

Slick Willy could be VP, but in the event Hillary were no longer able to fulfill her duties, it might trigger a Constitutional crisis, depending on when incapacitation/death occurred.  That is, if she died of a stroke in her third month in office, Bill would not be able to serve more than two years before someone else would have to tapped to fill the role (the Speaker?).  The 25th Amendment does not really envision this type of scenario for succession, and while it is all fun and games, it does seem as though if anyone were to even consider trying this, it would be the Clintons.

(And there's also the little problem about New York Electors under the 12th Amendment.)

[Brian]

As delightful as a Clinton/Clinton ticket would be from an election cycle/entertainment perspective, I'm not certain the CSM analysis of the 22nd Amendment is entirely correct or complete as it relates to the VP's most important job: Standby.  There is more to the first part of the 22nd Amendment, like everything in bold: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once."

Huh. I never realized this before, but somebody could plausibly be president for (counting the time between election and succession) 10 full years under that scenario. Elect Hillary/Diamond Joe in 2016, they die in 2019 of excess Valentine's Day candy, and Julian Castro can be president until inauguration day 2029.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Even more surreal: What if Trump wins the GOP nomination but Hillary loses out? What if Trump offers her the running mate job? (Would be yet another reason to vote against him!)

[drogulus]

Then you obviously have no clue.

Sanders wants to help born children and that disqualifies him before you get to abortion.

[Ken B]

Sanders wants to help born children and that disqualifies him before you get to abortion.

And that relates to my comment how?
You implied evangelicals don't really care about abortion. That's clueless.

[drogulus]

And that relates to my comment how?
You implied evangelicals don't really care about abortion. That's clueless.

     They want it to be illegal more than they want to reduce the number of abortions, so there are different ways of caring, and not just one factor to care about. Take me, for example. I see a continuum of care that includes birth control, reproductive health and the welfare of children. Abortion is part of those concerns, not a stand alone issue for me. So I want to reduce the number of abortions by reducing both the necessity and the desire for them, which is best done within the law. Criminalized abortion doesn't have a good track record in this respect, and to the extent that self described evangelicals trample these distinctions, as they so often do, they deserve to be considered cruel hypocrites.

[Brian]

Even more surreal: What if Trump wins the GOP nomination but Hillary loses out? What if Trump offers her the running mate job? (Would be yet another reason to vote against him!)

Who WOULD Trump choose as a running mate?

Mark Cuban
Ted Cruz
Sarah Palin

That's what I bet he chooses between.

[Todd]

Mark Cuban

Too much trash talk from Cuban, methinks: "And if it was me vs. Trump, I would crush him. No doubt about it."

That this type of thing is discussed at all, serious or not, makes me think of Richard Dawson's line from The Running Man:

"Hello, this is Killian. Give me the Justice Department, Entertainment Division. No, no, hold that, Operator? Get me the President's agent."

[(poco) Sforzando]

Who WOULD Trump choose as a running mate?

Mark Cuban
Ted Cruz
Sarah Palin

That's what I bet he chooses between.

Nah. He will choose himself.

[Ken B]

Nah. He will choose himself.

That's an interesting idea. But I'm sleptical.  I doubt he'd put up with an equal, and he'd never agree to serve in a subordinate roll.

[Brian]

That's an interesting idea. But I'm sleptical.  I doubt he'd put up with an equal, and he'd never agree to serve in a subordinate roll.

I see you're already playing the Presidential Debate Drinking Game!

Rules:
1. Any time you feel the need to drink, drink.

[Brian]

This debate took about 10 minutes to get from a classy, humble intro by Ben Carson to the level of a VH1 reality TV series.

[(poco) Sforzando]

This debate took about 10 minutes to get from a classy, humble intro by Ben Carson to the level of a VH1 reality TV series.

That long?

[Todd]

I streamed a fair chunk, and got hear about the threats faced not by just America, no, but by Western Civilization itself (!!!!!!); someone mentioned 9/11 in passing; there was much splutter about immigration; but Huckabee's mention of the "Fair Tax" - the right's equivalent of the left's so-called "Fair Trade" - spurred me to stop watching. 

Fiorina came off rather well.  She did her homework.  I could not vote for her, but the same goes for most of the people on the stage.  And where was Pataki?  He did Tavis Smiley this week and said some forgettable things, but nothing embarrassing like Trump or Huckabee.  The field needs more trimming.