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Goodguy  3d ago (text post)   Edited 3d ago   9673 thread views

Midterms Megathread

Cause otherwise midterms discussion will be scattered around a bunch of separate Culture War thread posts. And it's nice to have more off-the-cuff rapid reactions in a dedicated megathread.

The first thing I've noticed so far: if the exit polls are correct, Americans are very pessimistic about AI.

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The difference is that Gerald Ford was fairly milquetoast presidential material, while JD Vance does not fit the mold at all in appearance and demeanor, and appears to be instinctively loathed by normies to the point that I seriously think Trump may have picked him as a threat to discourage his own removal.

There's also the option of the nominee being someone other than Vance. I should have specified that upfront. I do think the Republicans would have some politically stronger options than Vance.

On the other hand, literally nobody had voted for Ford before 1976. At least a plurality of American voters already voted for Vance once.

Also, Ford had to deal with a bruising primary fight with Reagan, which undermined him in the 1976 race. Vance might not have to deal with that.

I also think Vance would quickly be seen as more popular, once he was no longer just "Trump's VP". Kamala immediately became far more popular once she was the Democrat nominee in 2024, than she was before that as "Biden's VP".

Vance is going to have to deal with DeSantis and maybe Rubio at a minimum.

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