Defying expectations
by digby
I think Greg Sargent is right about this:
Get ready for news organizations to grade Trump’s debate performance on a massive curve. Here is a depressing harbinger of what’s coming, from CNN today:
In front of a vast television audience, the GOP nominee could reshape perceptions of his character and readiness — if he can avoid being drawn into gaffes and personality clashes by Clinton. He will benefit from rock-bottom expectations, given controversies whipped up by his tempestuous personality and the vast gulf in experience between Trump and Clinton.
In other words, if Trump doesn’t try to urinate in Clinton’s direction or manages not to vomit all over his podium, he will have “defied expectations.” So presidential! In saying these types of things, news orgs and commentators never allow that they are the ones who decide whether the supposed defiance of expectations in question actually should lead us to lower the bar for a candidate or otherwise factor in to how we judge his or her performance. It shouldn’t.
There will be a lot of pressure on the news orgs not to play this game, but it’s reasonably possible that we’ll see a lot of it, anyway. This is going to be infuriating, so prepare your medicine of choice right now.
ChrisWallace has said his job is to be a potted plant so there probably won’t be any pushback from the moderators either. Candy Crowley seems to have lost her career for doing that.
I don’t know what Trump is going to do — he isn’t preparing in any traditional sense. But whatever it is unless he starts going on about his penis again he will be seen as beating expectations. And the dry old stick will undoubtedly be boring and dull with all that yucky information and policy and stuff so she will likely be seen as not meeting expectations. This is the game they play.
Recall the reviews of Sarah Palin who managed to speak in complete sentences. And the press loves Joe Biden.
My debate medicine will be tequila. As always …
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