The World Is Watching

 

“BRUSSELS — The unedifying spectacle of Tuesday night’s presidential debate produced some shock, some sadness and some weariness among American allies and rivals alike on Wednesday.”

 

“Debate? What debate? The event was not intended to change minds or elucidate issues. It was only a form of entertainment which did credit to neither the incumbent nor the challenger. It encapsulates all that has gone wrong with American politics.” —Bilahari Kausikan, former Singaporean ambassador.

 

“European leaders must have woken up this morning thinking, ‘The American leadership is over, and for a while, even if Biden is elected and tried to rebuild what Trump has destroyed.’ The truth is, the European leaders feel alone because they know that what Trump has dismantled cannot be rebuilt so quickly and so easily.” —Nicole Bacharan, French-American historian and Paris political analyst.

 

“My own response is that it makes me despondent about America. The country we have looked to for leadership has descended into an ugly brawl.” —John Sawers, former British diplomat.

 

“The debate was a joke, a low point, a shame for the country. Roaring, insults, two over-70s who interrupt each other like 5-year-olds — and a moderator who loses all control. The trigger, of course: Trump’s uncouth, undignified behavior.” —Markus Feldenkirchen, journalist with the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel.

 

—Stephen Erlanger, reporter, “Trump-Biden Debate Prompts Shock, Despair and, in China, Glee,” NYTimes, Sept. 30, 2020.

 

 

• Editorial Comment: Another 2020 low point.

 

PeezPIX

 

The Smoke Is Back 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Scares Us? Check out the October issue of Senior News, Things That Go Bump in the Night. On newsstands everywhere. (Or should be.)

 

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Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard