Mark you calendars, folks, for Thursday, August 6. Best debate ever.
Jeb!'s screwed. Everyone and their brother has advice for him. Don't wrestle with a pig. Be witty, funny, substantive. Stay above the fray.
“He needs to punch Donald Trump in the nose, but do it with a smile on his face,” an Iowa Democrat said. “He should be funny and confident, but do everything he can to poke holes in his gasbag facade.”
“They all need to remember that Reagan’s classic “there you go again” line [to Jimmy Carter] was delivered not with a snarl and a smirk but rather with a smile and a shrug,” a New Hampshire Republican said.
“Donald Who? Allow others to seek media attention with attacks on Trump. Bush needs to be above the fray, because, frankly, he IS above the fray,” said a New Hampshire Democrat, who like all participants was granted anonymity in order to speak freely.
The biggest problem for Bush is that everyone expects him to turn in the best performance—and high expectations are a politician's worst enemy. He's got the most to prove and the most to lose all while standing alongside a total wild card named Donald Trump.
And while the other candidates are all engaged in intensive preparation for how to deal with The Donald, The Donald is just doing, well, The Donald.
Trump, for his part, tweeted Wednesday that he’s heading to his Turnberry resort in Scotland, which is hosting the Woman’s British Open — no word on when or if he’s planning to prepare for the debate Thursday night. “I am what I am,” he said Tuesday.
True dat.