• jeffw@lemmy.worldOPM
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    51
    ·
    1 month ago

    He certainly seemed awkward in the first couple minutes, but I’m not sure what the big deal would be outside of that.

    • wagesj45@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      64
      ·
      1 month ago

      That thing about when he was in China was a shitshow from top to bottom. I had never even heard of the “controversy” so it was probably some bullshit the moderators threw in to appease the conspiracy lunatics and appear balanced. Then his answer was a bunch of nothing and flailing around. I don’t think he even answered it. The closest he got was “that’s what I said” and didn’t address the accuracy of the statement or an explanation in his answer. And then he stopped with a few seconds left in his allotted time and froze up and stammered for the rest of it.

      Tim Walz is, by all appearances, a stand up guy and smart as a tack. But that isn’t really what drives these debates. If they were won and lost on the merits, no Republican would have been elected in my lifetime. But they’re not about substance and by pretty much every measure that answer and interaction was a doozy of a loser.

      But that was the only answer that he flubbed like that, so the night wasn’t a total disaster for Walz. It just wasn’t a win.

      • brognak@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        35
        ·
        1 month ago

        He did answer it, literally said he misspoke but he was there during the summer (iirc).

        • Landless2029@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          1 month ago

          Yeah it really threw him off.

          Itbwould have been cleaner if he said something along the lines of “I was there that summer and witnessed the people. History in the making. It was a few months after the march. I took my class’s blah blah blah.”

          A “real politician” would have set the record straight without using a negative word like “I was wrong/incorrect”

          His answer was a lot more genuine toe because of that. He over-explained due to nervousness and then said “I misspoke”

          I’d say he came in just under on that.

          • brognak@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            ·
            1 month ago

            Exactly. The whole exchange seems like it caught him on the back foot and wasn’t something he was prepped for so he felt he had to explain the entire situation and got lost in his story and never put a bow on it. When the moderator pressed him after he had finished he followed up with basically “I misspoke, I apologize, shit happens”.

            Meanwhile Vance refused to give a solid answer on who won in 2020, but people say he took the debate.

            • Landless2029@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              1 month ago

              Vice Presidental debate:
              “Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?” “We’re focused on the future…” “That’s a damning non answer.”

              Presidential debate:
              “They’re eating the dogs!!”

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      1 month ago

      The icebreaker question being “How can we fix the middle east” was fucking crazy and they both fumbled with it.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        1 month ago

        “I don’t know that we can. But the first step is to stop pouring proverbial kerosene on the fire.”

      • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 month ago

        I doubt anyone could give an adequately comprehensive answer to “how do we fix the middle east” in the time allowed.

        It’s a problem that’s been going on since before either of them was born.