Perception and Reality

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To call the US  (June 27, 2024) Presidential debate on June 27, 2024a “train wreck” is a colossal understatement.

It was an unmitigated disaster of epic proportion with consequences for this nation that cannot be reversed.  It was an affirmation of everything being said about Biden’s age and a free pass for Trump to lie his way into the Whitehouse.

By Michael Caporale

It is a principal tenet of advertising doctrine that you sell to perception, not to the reality. Trump was selling to perception. With no one to fact check him, he overwhelmed Biden with a non-stop torrent of lies, all told with an aggressive and energetic, free-flow of impromptu “connect-the-dots,” where everything, no matter what issue, or whether germane to the question asked, led back to Biden failures. He performed a rant of conviction like that of a possessed fanatic.  His orange spray-on tan created the perception of health and was a take-away of the lessons learned by Nixon’s lack of makeup in the Kennedy TV debates, historically referenced as a reason for Nixon’s electoral loss. Trump was colorful, vibrant and bursting with energy.

Biden on the other hand was ashen, pale and somber.  He made very little eye contact with the camera, the eyes of the home audience, instead looking down as if hanging his head in guilt and shame. Aghast, his open mouth created the appearance of befuddlement. That is the perception he created.  His hoarse and raspy voice betrayed his poor health, as he stumbled through misspoken words while correcting himself, further adding to the perception that he was lost in his reply.  The truth of what he said–the reality of his time in office and the success of his policies, his vision for the future, his predictions of Trump’s impact on democracy—none of that mattered.  It further reaffirmed the incompetence of a clueless Democratic party to congeal a marketable argument for his re-election, one that sold to perception rather than relied on their reality. To be clear, his reality and your reality are very different matters, but your perception will determine the outcome of the election.

“This election is not about conservatives versus liberals or the values of moderates, but it’s really about fanatics versus lemmings and whether political leaders can escape their orbit of seriously incompetent and tragically flawed parties.”

Trump’s reality is that Trump is a liar.  It’s documented fact that he told over 30,000 lies in his time in office, in his capacity as President.

• It’s a reality that Trump tried to illegally overturn the election through surrogates, fake electors, court challenges and a plea to Mike Pence to violate the constitution.
• It’s a reality that Trump lost the 2020 election and every subsequent court challenge.
• It’s a reality that he encouraged and fueled the January 6^th insurrection.
• It’s a reality that he’s a convicted felon.
• It’s a reality that he faces several state and federal indictments.
• It’s a reality that he is a serial philanderer, had sex with a porn star and habitually sexually assaulted many women.
• It’s a reality that he has committed fraud in business and in his taxes.
• It’s a reality that he owes over half a billion dollars in judgements in cases he has lost.
• It’s a reality that he bankrupted a casino!  Just how bad do you have to be as a businessman to bankrupt a casino?
•  It’s a reality that he used the Presidency as a conduit for his business enterprises like his Washington hotel, Mara Lago and club memberships with promises of access.
• It’s a reality that it is his common practice to stiffs his suppliers.
• It’s a reality that he illegally removed Top-Secret documents from the Whitehouse and attempted to obstruct their recovery.
• It’s a reality that he ripped children from their immigrant mothers and caged them, while deporting their mothers without first establishing a paper trail whereby they might be reunited at a later date.
• It’ a reality that he conspired with Communist leaders and openly embraces the policies of dictatorial strongmen.
• It’s a reality that he favors abandoning NATO.
• It’s a reality that he supports racist and anti-semitic organizations.

Need I go on?  These are just some of the many data points on Trump’s reality.  But when he opens his mouth, he creates his own perception.

The perception of Biden is well founded, not solely by his aged physical missteps, falling up the steps to his plane or while riding a bicycle, but by his measured responses to crisis.  While it may be said that he is contemplative, a desirable quality in a leader, it may also be said that he is not decisive, often coming to the right decision, but too little, too late. Biden is above all else a good man.  He is a well-intentioned human being with a positive track record. He’s honest and reasonable, considerate and kind, all good qualities found in a boy scout but that seem to be overlooked when seeking a results-oriented President.

Biden needs to step down. NOW!  He can never turn his ship around.  He’s in the middle of the ocean with a dead engine and he can’t make the shore.

• This poses a very tricky problem for the Democratic party.
• If he stays in the campaign, he will lose to Trump.
• If he leaves, then Trump will remain the nominee.
• In an open convention, what Democratic leader can win against Trump?

But if Biden remains the nominee, then it was previously likely, but now no longer, that the GOP would have had an open convention and Nikki Haley would have been the most likely nominee.  But truth be told, all that evaporated with Biden’s abysmal performance at the debate. Now I’m pretty sure Nikki Haley would win over Biden. While she’s better than Trump, she’s still a party creature and we would have to endure another very bad four years governed by a corrupt party in disarray.

This election is not about conservatives versus liberals or the values of moderates, but it’s really about fanatics versus lemmings and whether political leaders can escape their orbit of seriously incompetent and tragically flawed parties.