Bloomberg was the turkey at a turkey shoot during Democratic debate

NY Post ^ | February 19 2020 | Michael Goodwin

[knighthawk]

In the months before he decided to run for president, Michael Bloomberg swore he wouldn’t take the plunge. Over and over, he told friends there was no place for him in the Democratic Party.

He might have been right, to judge from the beating he took in Las Vegas. His first debate was the night he dreaded and while his race for the nomination isn’t DOA, the road to victory just got a lot tougher.

His record and notorious past comments were easy pickings, and his rivals repeatedly aimed their fire at his billions, turning his wealth into a crime against humanity. Sometimes they misfired, but mostly they struck gold with their broadsides.

[Cvengr]

So much for that billion $ investment.

[ronnie raygun]

Weasel with money gets buckshot in arse

[lepton]

Bloomberg started the process by pantsing himself in recanting most of his accomplishments. Then the media teed his I woke self up and whacked him with a bat. Then the other candidates finished the next stage of the pantsing.

[Liz]

MEMORABLE Bloomberg saying he was too rich to release his returns because he can’t do Turbo Tax “like all of you losers.”

[nathanbedford]

So we are left in a way with the worst of both possible worlds, a Bernie Sander's campaign resting on a broad and vigorous base funded by an oligarch's contributions.

If Bloomberg stays in the race even after he fails to get the nomination, he can run anti-Trump unlimited TV spots as his own personal contributions to his own personal campaign but to the benefit of Bernie Sanders. Much depends on whether the diminutive white knight of Wall Street and Goldman Sachs fears Trump more or less than Bernie Sanders. That is another way of asking, who is the greater threat to the trillions being carved by China investors hollowing out America?

My supposition is that the rest of the field will limp along toward extinction but their very presence will leave the field of opponents to Bernie so diffuse that he, like Trump four years ago, will avoid a brokered convention and easily win the nomination as his adversaries drop off one by one. That is, Elizabeth Warren (whom I counted out before her revival), Amy Klobuchar (whom I counted out as a candidate devoid of charisma before her revival), Pete Buttigieg (whom I am counting out now), and Joe Biden (the only candidate I correctly counted out early and who has never had a political pulse detectable anywhere except in national polls), will limp along while their money holds out but probably not past South Carolina and certainly not past super Tuesday.

I think Bernie Sanders, despite the fact that he can reasonably be called Bolshevik Bernie, is the most formidable of the Democrat field. He exudes authenticity which is so patently lacking in candidates like Warren and Bloomberg. He has demonstrated charisma, unlike the stolid Klobuchar and the zombielike Biden. He is unflappable and more agile under tough questioning than even Buttigieg. He has the aura of it being his time after he was so cruelly denied last time.

I continue to believe that, absent a black swan event such as a financial crash due to coronavirus, Trump will win with a good chance of retaking The House. If the economy crashes because of the coronavirus, Trump must be seen to have gotten in front of that risk or he will be blamed for all its miseries. It matters not how unfair that judgment might be, the Democrats will holler and scream that the coronavirus is Trump's Hurricane Katrina. Not after the contagion leaps to our shores but when that calamity shall appear inevitable to our medical team, the president will have to address the nation and be seen to be taking charge.

The first casualty of the coronavirus is likely to be a downturn in the stock market followed by a tapering off of the GDP. Casualties will increase if the virus comes and our healthcare system could easily implode as China's is. Worse, supply of medicines from China, the supplier on whom we are almost wholly dependent, are likely to be cut off. This could easily occur this spring or summer turning the election Bernie's way if the president is not vigorous and seemed to be proactive in getting in front of this potential pandemic. He must walk a fine line between appearing to be a resolute leader and avoiding public panic.

Trump has much in his record to point to in defense of his presidency and much to point to in defense of the country against a Chinese virus. If the virus comes, if the stock market crashes, if medicines are not forthcoming from China, if many jobs are lost, Trump, pointing to that record, can easily be seen to advantage as the man to lead the country rather than barking Bernie.

[Williams]

IMHO the criticisms of his performance are being exaggerated, because he defended capitalism. But if he goes down in flames, it’s fine with me.

[jughandle]

The rest had better watch the insults, that’s a LOT of campaign support money he promised to the nominee. Hate to throw all that away for a little debate jab.

[central_va]

It was definitely a circular firing squad with the NYC dick head in the center.

[hadaclueonce]

As a dumb farmer I may not know much about how NYC works.
I have seen the hate I witnessed Las night.
When my chickens find a baby rat snake.
The chickens fight each other for just one more bite of the snake.
Dumb farmers know that.

[yldstrk]

I don’t agree about the corona virus. For one thing it is more lethal to Asian males than any other segment. For another, China is a filthy dirty third world country and US is the cleanest country. Our medical people are still good, although obamacare tried to implode it to weaken us. Corona virus will be no more than a pimple on the ass of the US.

[kearnyirish2]

Corona virus is impacting the US economy because our slave colony (Red China) is hampered by it; the interruption of cheap sh!tty goods will impact the shelves of our stores.

[yldstrk]

True, but we have still some smart hardworking people that will fill in the gaps.

[Sequoyah101]

Of course you know you are correct so I don’t need to agree with you.

The angle of Bloomberg continuing his campaign as a way to circumvent the legality of unlimited campaign contributions is unique and what many have expected this was all about in the first place.

The virus thing is a real black swan, I so hate that term but it is the term used, event. It is a teeter totter event to balance against alarm and failure to respond properly that we all consider.

[kearnyirish2]

The problem is the days are gone when you could buy the Red Chinese crap or the more expensive American alternative next to it on the shelf; the factories that produced those goods here were idled decades ago. It would require significant rehabbing of the factories (if they are even still standing), and training of new workers.

I’m all for it, but I know nobody wants to pay as much as those union-made American goods would cost. This virus will just speed up the transition of Western businesses to Southeast Asia suppliers (Vietnam, Malaysia, Burma, Laos) that has been underway for years now. Red China has been losing business to its southern neighbors; they’ll make it even cheaper, and their goods are on our shelves now.

[Gen.Blather]

I suspect it doesn’t matter how bad his debate performance is. The money is what counts.

If Bernie has the most delegates, but Bloomie gets the nod, we will see a riot at the convention.

On the flip side, if Bloomie is the candidate his performance against Trump will be even worse. Trump is the debate-Jujitsu champion. But, again, it comes down to how much money they can spend.

I think we have reached the point where in order to win a presidential contest you will need to be a billionaire.

[yldstrk]

I like VietNamese goods. They are better quality than Chinese stuff. That is acceptable to me.

[Sirius Lee]

Little mike came up short in the debate, offering little.

[kearnyirish2]

I have the same issue with them; they are a communist enemy. On top of that, they still occupy an ally (South Vietnam).

[yldstrk]

Well, you have a valid point there.