Ramaswamy plans ‘fun on the campaign trail’ in New Hampshire

NEWS AND OPINION:

One Republican presidential hopeful appears to be in a good mood at the moment.

Republican presidential candidate and political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy is heading back to New Hampshire on Saturday for a full “weekend of barnstorming,“ according to his campaign.

There will be “free speech, free drinks, and fun on the campaign trail,” notes an official advisory from his campaign shared with Inside the Beltway.

Well at least somebody’s having fun out there.

According to his schedule, Mr. Ramaswamy will host a “2A Town Hall & Range Day” on Saturday at an indoor gun range in Hudson, a town of some 25,000 not far from the Massachusetts state line.

“2A,” of course, refers to the Second Amendment. But wait, there’s more.

The candidate will also lead a “holiday stroll” in Nashua, then it’s on to the aforementioned “free speech and free drinks” event at a local brewery in Exeter.

Sunday morning finds Mr. Ramaswamy ready for two local “diner stop-ins” in Nashua and Manchester, starting at 8:15 a.m. sharp. He’ll follow that at a Christmas tree cutting in the town of Candia, rounding out his day with another “free speech and free drinks” event at a bar and grill in Manchester.

DEBATING THE DEBATES

The Commission on Presidential Debates has already announced the official date and location of each general election presidential debate in 2024. Next year’s first presidential bout takes place on Sept. 16, with the others scheduled for Oct. 1 and Oct. 9.

Some observers are already wondering about the timing of these pivotal presidential dates.

“The debates will end earlier than they ever have. There will be 27 days between the last debate and Election Day on November 5. That’s compared to 12 days in 2020 and 20 days in 2016. However, it’s not certain the debates will actually happen,” CNN noted in an analysis released Monday.

“Last year, the Republican National Committee voted to withdraw from its participation in the commission, with chairwoman Ronna McDaniel saying at the time that the commission is biased and has refused to enact simple and common sense reforms,” the analysis said.

Nate Ashworth, founder and editor-in-chief of the political news site Election Central, added that “the so-called ‘non-partisan’ debate commission has been suspect for over a decade now.”

“Ever since moderator Candy Crowley inserted herself into the discussion between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, it was clear something had to change. Instead of acting as an impartial observer, Crowley fact-checked Romney on the fly but admitted she was wrong after the fact. Too late, the damage was done on live television,” he wrote.

“Republicans disdain the commission for those reasons and more. The simple fact that it’s hard to find moderators who don’t lean explicitly left in their politics means that the pool itself is tainted,” he said.

“In short, the current system of presidential debates is broken — but the Commission on Presidential Debates is part of the swamp and not easily movable,” Mr. Ashworth concluded.

And as the theatrical sages once said, the show must go on.

FOXIFIED

During the week of Nov. 13-19, Fox News drew an average nightly primetime audience of 1.8 million viewers, compared to MSNBC with 1.2 million primetime and CNN with 509,000 according to Nielsen Media Research.

During the daytime hours, Fox News bested both the news and non-news cable competition alike, drawing an average of 1.2 million viewers and landing in the top spot for the week.

As usual, “The Five” was themost-watchedd program with a nightly average of 2.8 million viewers, followed by “Jesse Watters Primetime” with 2.5 million, “Special Report with Bret Baier” with an audience of 2.1 million and “The Ingraham Angle” with 2 million.

Fox News weekday morning programming also trumped the network competition.

“The Faulkner Focus” enjoyed an average daily audience of 1.6 million — compared to NBC’s “Today with Hoda and Jenna” (1.4 million) and ABC’s “Good Morning America” (1.3 million).

During the weekend, “Sunday Morning Futures” hosted by Maria Bartiromo was the most-watched program of the entire weekend with 1,5 million viewers, followed by “Fox Report with Jon Scott,” a Saturday evening feature that airs at 6 p.m. and drew an audience of 1.4 million.”

165 MILLION ADDRESSES

The U.S. Postal Service says it’s ready to roll as the end-of-year, mail-heavy holidays arrive.

“As the holiday season approaches and online shopping activity intensifies, the United States Postal Service is strongly positioned to handle the expected surge in package and mail deliveries in a superior and routine manner ahead of and following Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” the service said in a written statement released Tuesday.

It noted that the U.S. Postal Service is “an independent federal establishment which delivers mail and packages to 165 million addresses six and sometimes seven days a week.

“Our commitment is unwavering, and our preparation is thorough. We have been strategically planning early and leveraging significant investments in our people, infrastructure, delivery network, and technology,” Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy said in a written statement.

In general, the service offers commonsense advice to send items early, use online tools found at USPS.com and sign up for a free “informed delivery” service.

And one more thing.

“Ship Safely. Metallic mercury and devices containing metallic mercury are always prohibited in the mail stream. This includes antique items such as thermometers, barometers, blood pressure monitors and similar devices. For more information, read ‘Mercury Remains Prohibited in the Mail’ in the online USPS Newsroom,” the postal folks advise.

POLL DU JOUR

• 36% of U.S. adults strongly disapprove of the way the U.S. Congress is handling its job.

• 22% somewhat disapprove.

• 16% neither approve or disapprove.

• 13% somewhat approve of the way Congress is handling its job.

• 6% strongly approve of the way Congress is handling its job.

• 8% are not sure about the issue.

SOURCE: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 11-14.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X at @HarperBulletin, on Facebook at HarperUniverse.