The Sanders-Trump debate, which is never going to happen.

[randomness]

Charles Pierce wasn't too optimistic, but it turns out the first paragraph of his piece yesterday on the proposed Sanders-Trump debate turned out to be right on the money:

I am going to be a cockeyed optimist and believe, for the moment anyway, that Bernie Sanders "accepted" He, Trump's invitation to a debate prior to the California presidential primaries on June 7 purely as a shrewd political maneuver. I will believe, for the moment anyway, that Sanders "accepted" knowing full well that He, Trump has the roar of a lion and the heart of a chicken, and that He, Trump will find some convoluted reason to back out of the confrontation. Perhaps it might even be right before the debate goes on the air, thereby making He, Trump look evermore the fool, and giving Sanders a couple of hours of free airtime to state his case. Great move there, Spassky!

Today, Trump backed out:

Donald Trump will not participate in a debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said Friday.

In a statement, Trump slammed Sanders, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and the Democratic nominating process, and said that debating the Vermont senator would be "inappropriate." Sanders' camp, in turn, accused Trump of flip-flopping on a "clash of ideas."

To me it looks like a success for Sanders. Trump's bluff called. People should do that more often.

David Graham of the Atlantic was broadly disapproving of Sanders (which I disagree with), but ended with this (which I think is spot on):

Both Trump and Sanders are unpredictable, inconsistent debaters. It could have been a snooze, or it could have been a fracas. It would have been loud, and the Queens-Brooklyn accent showdown would have been tremendous.

What it would have sounded like is a debate in an old-time New York City mayoral race. Like the one they had when this song came out:

"Native New Yorker - Odyssey (1977)" (Watch on YouTube)

Comments

[chris-warrior.livejournal.com]

more fool i, then, because i actually thought Trump was silly enough to go through with it, simply for the exposure. honestly, it would have been in character, though i understand the point about his also being cowardly. still, it feels more to me like some advisor might have actually gotten to him.

[fin9901.livejournal.com]

Amusingly, both the Sanders supporters and the conservative #NeverTrump crowd are making #ChickenTrump trend.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

I think Trump actually has a point here. As petulantly as his response was worded, he has nothing to gain and everything to lose by debating Sanders. It's not over yet, but the smart money is on Clinton as the Democratic nominee at this point.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

It's not that foolish of you. Trump is unpredictable. Deliberately so.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I saw that and followed it for a bit. Some of the tweets were pretty funny.