boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Biben has yet to take a candid "press conference". No unscripted appearance what so ever. No questions Silence!!! One can only draw one conclusion. he is AFRAID. He will do anything to avoid debates, this alone should disqualify him.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

mwalsh Loc: Houston

At some point Biden has to come out of Hiden and start campaigning.

The strategy so far has been to let trump do his campaigning...and it has been effective. Trump is doing a great job of making any alternative to trump look good.

But that strategy alone won't carry the fight to the end for Biden.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Tex-s

Actually, Biden is being disciplined. He KNOWS he needs to fear debate, so he and his handlers have decided that saying nothing serves his campaign better than saying something, anything. His prayer is to hope President Trump un-elects himself, that Covid remains a problem, and that the economy is soured. Especially with Covid, Biden is praying for things to stay bad, as removing live debates is a God-send for Biden.

mjmoore17 Loc: Philadelphia, PA area

Or another conclusion, why change when trump is losing without help.

Rose42

He's not afraid - he's being smart. Or I should say, his handlers are smart. Trump is campaigning for him at the moment.

Anyone who runs for president has a thick skin and a healthy dose of ego. Trump doesn't have the thick skin. lol

travelwp Loc: New Jersey

Where have you been for the last 4 years? On a daily basis, CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times and the Washington Post etc have been badmouthing Trump, creating false stories, lying about Trump and showing no support at all for our president, and you can say Trump doesn't have thick skin. Any other person would be hiding in the basement.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

mwalsh Loc: Houston

Trump is an insecure snowflake. I think he is extremely insecure and that is why he puffs up with all his false braggadocio and fake arrogance. He is a man-child.

All presidents face a constant onslaught of criticism and attack from the other side, especially for the last 20 years. You may think trump has had it worse than any other president simply because he told you he has been treated more unfairly than any president in history (a ridiculous whine and bleat on his part.)

Most presidents ignore the flack and only speak back on major issues. Trump tweets and bitches about every petty perceived slight...that is the evidence of his thin skin. Why do you think folks call him Trumplethinskin?

His lovers call it punching back. I call it childishly swatting at stuff that is beneath the dignity of his office. Why whine about stuff that does not matter?

His whining has turned so many little things that would not have lasted past one half a day of news cycle into major stories that dog him for weeks.

If he had any self-confidence he would just ignore that crap and let it die.

He's a whiny little bitch!

mjmoore17 Loc: Philadelphia, PA area

He is not “little”.

rwoodvira

I think that anyone that feels that they can predict the election at this point might have the best success in checking a Magic 8 ball and seeing what it answers.

During the Bill Clinton election of 1992, James Carvelle said: "It's the economy stupid." BTW I saw Carvell and his wife speak a few years ago and it was a hoot; she's was a diehard Republican, he's a Democrat.

Trump won the Presidency by winning the Electoral College - he lost the popular vote. If he didn't carry Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania Hilary would be President.

Contrary to what some have said in this forum, the economy is in the toilet. Business Insider today reported that some 28 million people are in danger of foreclosure with the end of the eviction ban. Landlords have noted that 60% of their tenants cannot pay their rent. A number of restaurants will never reopen. The Republicans are stalling the aid package in the Senate, which is pissing off those in danger of losing their homes to no end. That's a real indicator of an economy in trouble. If that bill gets passed tomorrow, it will still be weeks before the cash gets to the people that need it. That's a big plus for Biden.

The riots and civil disobedience will scare many. That's a plus for Trump.

COVID is getting worse in a number of Trump strongholds; the consensus seems to be that Trump was late to the party in stopping this disease. You can argue it another way, I'm sure - but more people are catching it, more are dying and a number of those strongholds are talking about rolling back to stage one. That's a plus for Biden also.

The debate - Trump is clearly the better speaker, but he does have the tendency to ad-lib and stretch his facts. Plus for Trump, but he better watch his facts; that could turn against him. From the ads, the media, and so on, I'm not sure that many will really watch the debates - also the people out on the street from losing their abodes will care less.

It does appear that many states will have mail-in ballots that Trump opposes; unfortunately how citizens vote in a state is controlled by the states, not the Feds. The voting pool will have problems that the dead will vote in major cities which is good for the Dems; there will probably be voter intimidation in the South which works for the Republicans. And Lord knows who the Chinese and Russian hackers will back this time. The same battleground states may again rule the election. If the external characters are of little influence, its a plus for Biden.

In the end, it will be the economy that decides. When I was in high school I dated a girl whose father was in the German army during World War II. He knew my parents and liked me and I asked him once how the Germans supported Hitler. He said simply because Hitler put bread on his table when he was starving - we are not at that point yet, but if people lose their hearth & home, it does not bode well for Mr. Trump.

In any case, I dislike both - my vote, as usual, will go to the lesser of two evils. In a country this big, isn't there a modern Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt or Reagan out there somewhere to clean up this mess?

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Gazing into my crystal ball to view the future I see that the COVID-19 will have an increased isolation requirement as we enter the time for the debates. There will be an outcry to protect the population by having the debates in an interactive format. They will not be on the same stage nor will they be given the same questions. It is also doubtful that either candidate will be able to hear or to see the other.

I suspect that Biden will have his questions in advance so that he will be able to read his prepared responses from a teleprompter that is out of the television camera view.

I have nothing to substantiate my prediction other than the vision I see in my crystal ball.

thom w Loc: San Jose, CA

It wouldn't normally, but you may be underestimating Trump. In 2016 Trump could be everything to everybody. Today he has a record.