The idea that a man of Donald Trump’s character wood command absolute loyalty from American evangelicals would have seemed wildly implausible not too long ago.

And Obama won in the heartland.

It’s possible basically. But Trump will win this unless he is in jail.

I don’t see how you can like a candidate who is in favor of world destruction.

This, and he also has questioned the validity of the 9/11 report and wants to appease Putin. The attacks on him were more about his extreme positions than about his standing in the polls. The only one he can steal points from after this debate is Trump, and that’s not happening right now. I doubt that the suburban women and young, educated people who cost Trump re-election would have anything to do with him.

Haley, on the other hand, took some moderate (but still conservative) positions, and seemed very presidential. I could see her doing much better than most everyone on the stage in those demographics…and would therefore do the best in a general election compared to the rest of the bunch. I’ll be interested to see how the non-Trump share of the polling changes based on this debate.

I have a very different take.

Ramaswamy has a LOT of momentum among hard core republicans, which is the main reason the rest of the candidates were attacking him and members of the audience that supported other candidates were trying to drown him out. He’s tapping into the Trump support without the baggage of being an insensitive narcissist. He setting himself up for the future.

He’s very bright and super quick on his feet. I’m not sure how much you have heard him, but I listen to a lot of podcasts and he crushes them all the time. He’s really sharp.

Personally, I don’t think he’s electable yet and I think some of his stated goals are naive. The establishment won’t allow him to do much of what he says he wants to do domestically. The last thing the establishment wants is another outsider looking to blow things up at home and getting the US out of overseas conflicts, especially its proxy wars against Russia.

By the way, I use the word establishment as a synonym for corrupt scumbags on both sides.

I think Trump was also a winner, since no one really stood out as a serious challenger to win over his cult. Unless he is barred from the nomination, it’s a done deal. In that sense, the biggest loser was DeSantis, since he was the only one with even a puncher’s chance, and neutral wasn’t going to help.

13. New York Knicks

2022-23 record: 47-35; lost in second round

Added: G Donte DiVincenzo (four years, $50M); two future second-round picks (acquired from Indiana); F Jaylen Martin (two-way); F Nathan Knight (two-way); F Dylan Windler (two-way); G Duane Washington Jr. (two-way)
Lost: F Obi Toppin (traded to Indiana); G Derrick Rose (signed with Memphis); G Trevor Keels (waived)
Retained: G Miles McBride (team picked up $1.83M option for 2023-24); C Jericho Sims ($1.9M guarantee picked up for 2023-24)
Extended: G Josh Hart (four years, $81M)
Returning from injury: F Julius Randle (ankle)

The skinny: More solid work from Leon Rose and crew in getting the Hart deal done quickly, giving coach Tom Thibodeau a very strong quintet of Jalen Brunson, Hart, Quentin Grimes, DiVincenzo and Immanuel Quickley to utilize. That feels like at least one guard too many in a normal rotation, but Hart and/or Grimes can and likely will scale up to the three when needed. A bit of an overpay for DiVincenzo, but nothing about which to get back-page angry. I’m glad New York didn’t take the bait in search of another star and move off RJ Barrett after a strong postseason. With their numerous future first-round picks and strong guard rotation, the Knicks remain poised to make a big run for the next non-Damian Lillard superstar who comes on the market. Perhaps a Cameroon native?

The link is
https://theathletic.com/4769187/2023/08/23/nba-offseason-moves-2023-warriors-jazz/