It was the most painful and ridiculous presidential debate last night perhaps of all American presidential debates. Painful because the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party and the sitting president Joe Biden showed exactly what voters were worried about: he’s old and confused. Ridiculous because a Mafia-boss-like personality and riot leader Donald Trump was presented as the nominee of a once respected party, and was normalized on a serious presidential debate stage.
What rubs salt in the wound of American pride in its democratic system is the mockery from China: the fact that netizens of the one-party authoritarian state are laughing over the debacle. Yes they watched it with Chinese subtitles, and here’s what they had to say overnight on Weibo.
Uncle Six Adan: With a combined age of over 160 years, these two American presidential candidates still get on television to attack each other, showing to the whole world the most embarrassing side of themselves, stabbing each other in the heart, sprinkling salt over it, and letting the world know that they are two pieces of shit. The most critical is that, in the end, the Americans must pick one of the pieces and swallow it. This is the full display of the absurdity of the American democracy.
Don RLZ: Dementia vs. schizophrenia.
Phantom Loulan Happy H 2024: Two old men in their 70s and 80s are still striving for their jobs. Cool. Inspirational.
CeRFsam: Not sure, but there might be an emergency room under Biden’s feet.
Johnson0708: Not possible. They are not fighting yet. Biden can’t even complete a sentence with Trump’s attacks.
uflow J: Many people left notes here over last night’s American presidential debate and wondered: U.S. is really declining. Why can’t they find two younger candidates to run for president?
Old L talking strategy: I suggest that Biden and Trump team up and run as president and vice president. This way, without any strong opponents, they will easily get elected. On the day of inauguration, Biden has a stroke and dies happy with his re-election. Trump the vice president takes over and becomes the president. Everyone is happy.
It is hard to take seriously criticism of a democratic political process from a country with a history of no democracy and aged authoritarian leaders. I would suggest that people look up Teddy Roosevelt’s “man in the arena” speech for some context. Of course, reading such material in places like China or Russia might be outlawed.
Interesting but insignificant.
There are advantages to any style of government.
The people aren’t really excellent judges of who will be their leaders, as famously observed by Churchill. Other countries use different selection strategies. Will Putin for example last until his natural death? Not likely. Stalin was probably poisoned. These countries don’t enjoy the best leadership imaginable, but it’s usually plenty vigorous.
These opinions are important to Americans regardless of the government the Chinese people live under. After all, Americans love everything Chinese – food, actors, directors, musicians, dancers, those exiled, history, etc., etc., and so on. Look to the wonderful culture of China, not to the communist thugocracy they suffer under.
These sound like the criticisms I’m now reading in the New York Times. Finally – consensus with China!