A little bit of everything
Richard E. Vatz https://wp.towson.edu/vatz/ is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of political rhetoric at Towson University and author of The Only Authentic of Persuasion: the Agenda-Spin Model (Bookwrights House, 2024) and over 200 other works, essays, lectures, and op-eds. He is the benefactor of the Richard E. Vatz Best Debater Award at Towson. The Van Bokkelen Auditorium at Towson University has been named after him.
Joe Biden’s speech was intended ostensibly to explain why he had withdrawn from the presidential race, but not the presidency, and to reconcile this decision with the longstanding claims by his supporters and himself that he was fine and behind the scenes was more than capable of running a campaign and serving through another 4 and 1/2 years.
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Finally, the second nail in Biden’s political coffin has been driven in by former and future President Donald Trump. Everything went Trump’s way tonight except that the ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis were more open about their opposition to the former president. When they cut him off, it seemed to be with prurient delight and with reminders that he needed to “answer the questions asked.”
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Using reluctant testimony as the key to credibility, as we often do in political rhetoric, Democrats across the country, including journalists at CNN, are already saying that Joe had a horrible night. No one defended his performance post-debate, although several television liberal pundits claimed that Trump was irresponsible and less than punctilious with the truth.
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President Biden is giving reason after reason to believe he is neurologically declining before our very eyes, from alleged “freezing” at fundraisers to being led off from wandering aimlessly after incongruously saluting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the recent G7 Summit; Supporters jumped in to claim he was reasonably giving thumbs up to skydivers. The greatest current fear is that Joe might have to yield his 2nd four years of presidency to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is distinguished by having less support than the president.
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If responsible fathers’ relationships with their children are good, and effort is always required, that same commitment should follow the children through adulthood and should include some passivity – your advice is not always necessary, and sometimes it is simply not wanted. Children’s mistakes, like the responsible fathers’, can bring them maturity and satisfaction when they are in charge of their own lives.
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Sunday, May 11 NFL Kansas City Chief placekicker Harrison Butker gave the Commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas; Some of his remarks relevant to the ensuing controversy follow
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Seemingly out of the blue, the 2024 presidential debates have been set. I have a long history of writing about
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At Morgan State University, there was a largely disappointing mayoral debate Wednesday evening on WBAL Television moderated by the knowledgeable WBAL Radio hosts Jayne Miller, C-4, and Maryland Public Television’s Jeff Salkin.
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Certainly, the argument is strong that Dick Cheney made it much more likely that George Bush would win two elections, 2000 and 2004; Sarah Palin was surely significant in McCain’s loss in 2008 and Kamala Harris will be blamed, perhaps correctly, if Trump wins in 2024.
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Last night President Joe Biden’s SOTU was memorable and the Republican response was strong, but the former is the topic of this article.
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