Countdown to Extinction: The 2016 Presidential Election

[(poco) Sforzando]

Poco, have you seen the ads Bernie is running now on TV?

Actually, I haven't. But I expect a deluge in the next two weeks as well as lots of phone calls, robo and otherwise. Hillary was in Manhattan yesterday and the high point was her inability to use an NYC metrocard on the subway. Some New Yorker. Trump has also invaded my area in fine form; a day after being shellacked in Wisconsin he appeared at a rally about 20 minutes from my home, and TV coverage made it clear nothing has fazed him. I thought of getting a ticket to see the phenomenon in person myself; fortunately after three seconds the impulse passed.

[Gurn Blanston]

Given the massive support this Sanders gets from people 19 to 35 years old, does anyone have any doubt that eventually a Sanders will win the US Presidency? 

Well yeah, actually. Very slim hope of winning it this time, and he is 74 years old. That is already older than any other president at the time of his first election, I believe. Next election he would be 78...

Now, if you ask if he had a disciple to carry on and this electorate would go for him, it is certainly possible they would. But as Poco says, people grow up intellectually and things like American Style Socialism lose their appeal with age, unlike wine and cheese. So who can say?

[Gurn Blanston]

Actually, I haven't. But I expect a deluge in the next two weeks as well as lots of phone calls, robo and otherwise. Hillary was in Manhattan yesterday and the high point was her inability to use an NYC metrocard on the subway. Some New Yorker. Trump has also invaded my area in fine form; a day after being shellacked in Wisconsin he appeared at a rally about 20 minutes from my home, and TV coverage made it clear nothing has fazed him. I thought of getting a ticket to see the phenomenon in person myself; fortunately after three seconds the impulse passed.

Yeah, there is a pill to take for little spasms like that. Beano is easiest...

[Florestan]

people grow up intellectually and things like American Style Socialism lose their appeal with age

When it comes to this generation, don´t hold your breath. 

[Karl Henning]

Actually, I haven't. But I expect a deluge in the next two weeks as well as lots of phone calls, robo and otherwise. Hillary was in Manhattan yesterday and the high point was her inability to use an NYC metrocard on the subway. Some New Yorker.

(* bites his tongue *)

[Brian]

(* bites his tongue *)

I had a little trouble with the metrocard on my visit, too. Seems like everybody does - my friend had like 5 spare cards for such emergencies.

[André]

Shouldn't the metrocard bit have been rehearsed beforehand ? That kind of little misshap may become nagging when it makes the front page of the tabloids.

[Todd]

I like that the Dems are comparing who is qualified to be President.  Makes for fodder for Republicans later, what, with ready-made sounds bites from the other side.  But is there any question who is more qualified?  It's Hillary, by several country miles.  But that doesn't mean much.  Excluding the Founding Fathers (ie, through Monroe), the most qualified people who became President didn't necessarily make for good Presidents.  Think John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan.  Or Tricky Dick.  Hopefully, Ed Rendell's advice is not heeded.

[Brian]

I like that the Dems are comparing who is qualified to be President.  Makes for fodder for Republicans later, what, with ready-made sounds bites from the other side.  But is there any question who is more qualified?  It's Hillary, by several country miles.  But that doesn't mean much.  Excluding the Founding Fathers (ie, through Monroe), the most qualified people who became President didn't necessarily make for good Presidents.  Think John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan.  Or Tricky Dick.  Hopefully, Ed Rendell's advice is not heeded.

This could be a fun question: who was the most qualified nominee of a major party? Bonus: most qualified nominee who had not been a VP?

I think we gotta mention Henry Clay in the second category.

[Todd]

This could be a fun question: who was the most qualified nominee of a major party? Bonus: most qualified nominee who had not been a VP?

I think we gotta mention Henry Clay in the second category.

Clay could certainly join the likes of Buchanan and JQA, both of whom meet your latter criterion.  JQA had an unfair advantage, of course, being the first notable dynasty politician at the national level.

As contentious as the current election is, it is always informative to consider how nasty it was before.  JQA vs Jackson (Old Hickory), Clay vs Jackson, Clay vs Polk (Young Hickory), Lincoln vs McClellan (imagine something similar today), the 1880 election (an inverse roadmap for this year's RNC convention?).  We need elections more like those, I say.

[Karl Henning]

I had a little trouble with the metrocard on my visit, too. Seems like everybody does - my friend had like 5 spare cards for such emergencies.

I had occasional trouble with the thin card-stock Charlie Card, too.  And there was one month when the MBTA (which, bottom line, is true to itself, and therefore frequently inept) sent me a monthly card, the new plastic variety, whose transponder didn't work.  The thin card-stock replacement which they provided worked fine.  The building I work in has the worst card-reading turnstile technology in New England.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I had a little trouble with the metrocard on my visit, too. Seems like everybody does - my friend had like 5 spare cards for such emergencies.

Last time I was in NYC, I couldn't figure out how the damn thing worked, and had to submit to a patient lecture from the guy in the booth.

This is one of the few areas where I have some sympathy for Hillary.

[drogulus]

 
    I don't see why socialist concepts can't mature the way capitalist ones do. When I was young, like many people back then, I though the tendencies would merge, then as I "matured" I began to think they couldn't, finally I realized that they did, but neither side wanted to take credit, because they wanted to remain sides.

    Hillary is most qualified, but Trump excepted the candidates are qualified enough so that level of qualification isn't much of an issue.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Last time I was in NYC, I couldn't figure out how the damn thing worked, and had to submit to a patient lecture from the guy in the booth.

This is one of the few areas where I have some sympathy for Hillary.

I know, I know. I was being a bit snarky. With millions of cards going through those readers, cards can get dirty and the readers have to be frequently cleaned. And you have to swipe your card without bending it and at just the right pace for the reader to pick up your information. I've had my share of "Please Swipe Again" and "Please Swipe at this Turnstile" messages myself, usually just when my train is pulling into the station. Using the city buses is much easier.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I know, I know. I was being a bit snarky. With millions of cards going through those readers, cards can get dirty and the readers have to be frequently cleaned. And you have to swipe your card without bending it and at just the right pace for the reader to pick up your information.

Sounds like she missed an opportunity to point out the importance of investing in infrastructure.

[Karl Henning]

Sounds like she missed an opportunity to point out the importance of investing in infrastructure.

Very well played, sir.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Very well played, sir.

Good thought, as there's been talk for years of upgrading the system to accept smartcards of some kind. In 2014, we were told, "In the very near future (!) New York City commuters will no longer have to swipe disposable subway cards through a turnstile to access trains. By 2019, New York's MTA plans to implement a new, yet-to-be-announced system that will either involve "bank issued contactless cards" (i.e., credit or debit cards) or smartphones, Kevin Ortiz, an MTA spokesperson told Fast Company on the occasion of the MetroCard's 20th anniversary." Well, we've waited this long . . . .

[kishnevi]

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC had a merry quarter hour with the tabloid coverage of Cruz...but also the Daily News's treatment of Trump and Sanders.  She explained at length what had been pixelated out of the Lady Liberty cover, and why.....

[Karl Henning]

Seen online:

[(poco) Sforzando]

Seen online:

"Two of Donald Trump's adult children — Ivanka and Eric — have spent months on the campaign trail trying to convince people to vote for their father in the Republican presidential primary. But when it comes time for New York's primary election next Tuesday, neither of them will be able to do the same.

New York has a closed primary system, which means that only voters registered as Democrats or Republicans can vote in their respective party's primary. Both Ivanka and Eric missed the deadline to change their registration from unaffiliated to Republican and therefore will have to sit out next week's election.

Trump addressed the matter during an appearance on Fox and Friends Monday. 'They had a long time to register and they were, you know, unaware of the rules,' Trump said. 'They feel very, very guilty.'"

Aw, shucks.