By Lambert Strether of Corrente.
With the title “Rumble in the Jungle”, I was hoping to present the best When We are still kings:
It’s 1974, Muhammad Ali is 32 years old and many think he’s past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and is the World Heavyweight Champion. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters $5 million each to fight each other… Kinshasa, Zaire: “Rumble in the Jungle” between champion George Foreman and challenger Muhammad Ali . In historical footage and new interviews, this film examines the relationship between African-Americans and the African continent during the Black Power era in terms of popular culture and international politics.
(Ali first used his famous “rope-a-dope” trick in this match.) In any case, although it pains me to compare Ali to another candidate, this is Ali’s arrogance. When We are still kings it seems somewhat familiar:
[ALI:] It’s fitting that I leave this game as I entered, beating a big bad monster that takes everyone out and no one can beat him. That’s when little Cassius Clay from Louisville, Kentucky, stepped up to stop Sonny Liston. The man who killed Floyd Patterson twice. YOU WILL KILL ME! But he hit harder than George. His reach is farther than George. He is a better boxer than George. And now I’m better than I was when you saw that 22-year-old underdeveloped kid running from Sonny Liston. I have experience now, professional. Broken jaws, knocked down a few times, I’m ugly! He cut down the trees. I did something new with this fight. I’ve wrestled with a crocodile. That’s right. I wrestled with a crocodile. I’m a whale of a time. I made lightning and handcuffed him, and threw thunder into prison. That’s bad! Only last week I killed a stone, I was injured a stone, I slept in the hospital a brick! I’m wicked, I’m sick of medicine!Don King: It’s bad, man!
Muhammad Ali: Bad, fast! Soon! Soon! Last night I turned off the light in my room, hit the switch and was in bed before the room got dark.
In any case, for those who come in at 8:30pm and want something to watch, here it is Ali vs Foreman–The Rumble In The Jungle, presented by ESPN Classicand narrated by Dr. Ferdie Pacheco (Ali’s corner man):
I see no need to try to predict how this debate will go; as readers know, I am a supporter of the idea that flexibility is the main feature of this election, despite all efforts to keep things stable, and it follows that the debate will be flexible (then, of course, given the composition of the rating panel, the debate he can turned into a slugfest when the candidate was more pro-Israel, which could have a twist in its own way). The conventional wisdom is that the dichotomy to watch is Biden’s cognitive function versus Trump’s tendency to ben [glass bowl]. But both candidates’ staffs may have prepared them for this (and Trump seems to be listening to his); maybe Biden will repeat the first ten digits of π, then challenge Trump to say the next ten, “as any elected official can do”; or Trump may, with touching sincerity, share his sympathies with Hunter Biden’s problems – dear Hunter! – and father behind another speaker. Maybe Biden is looking at the greatness of Lina Khan! Maybe Trump asks Biden to draw a clock – and he does! “What’s your jail number, Donald?” “54-46!” We just don’t know!
What I’ll be watching — other than that, I admit, I’m waiting for Biden to slip a cog or “Oh, humanity!” a second from Trump, with both opponents duking it out, blow-by-blow, ZOMG the spectacle!! – it will be the way voters appeal, or are managed or encouraged to appeal, to a small number of persuasive voters in emerging states (and their appeals, perhaps to reverse the future course of the race). For some reason, I kept watching Ball of money latest clips; This is very good: “People who run football clubs, think about buying players. Your goal should not be to buy players, your goal should be to buy winners. And to buy wins, you need to buy runs. ” Those small numbers of persuasive voters are the ones who run.
In any case, here are the details again (from the Indian Express, surprisingly, more relevant than CNN):
How long will this debate last?
Ninety minutes, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time, with two commercial breaks. That’s the typical length of a presidential debate, but the commercial break is notable: General election debates in past cycles, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates instead of individual news organizations, have not had them.Candidates will not be allowed to talk to their aides during the break, but they will have time to catch their breath and collect themselves in a way that they would not have had in previous years.
Will there be an in-person audience?
No. The candidates will debate in a CNN studio without a live audience.
How will the candidates be ranked?
They will stand at the lecterns. Biden won a coin toss to choose his seat, and will be on the right side of viewers’ TV screens.
Will there be opening and closing statements?
Opening statements, no; closing statements, yes.
The order of the closing statements was determined by a coin toss. Biden will make his debut, and Trump will have the final say in the debate.
How long will the examinees answer the questions?
CNN will allow two minutes for each response and one minute for rebuttals. The moderators, CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will be able to grant additional time at their discretion.
How will moderators prevent interference?
Candidate microphones will be muted if it is not their turn to speak. That was another request of Biden, which was aimed at monitoring the way Trump likes to interrupt and talk about the opponents of the debate.
Here is CNN’s “How to Watch” page. I think something will pop up there in due time (and the CNN site is a mess, to be sure; a series of twisting corridors alike). CNN will also show the same on YouTube.
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