CMV: A Kobayashi Maru gambit at a political debate, with the right candidate, would be successful.
Let me explain.
For those unfamiliar, the Kobayashi Maru is a test of character in the Star Trek universe. The "commanding officer" is put into a "no win" situation to see how they will respond. That's the basics of it.
And I think it would take a very specific type of candidate, of either major political party, for this to be successful. Generally, I believe it would take an "outsider" candidate.
The general mechanics would work like this (the verbiage wouldn't be exactly like this, but you get the general idea).
During opening statements, this candidate (let's call them Candidate Real), as part of their opening statement, would simply assert that they are the only one on stage not performing. Everyone else (the other candidates and moderators), including the post-debate analysts, is performing.
That's the trap. Candidate Real has now excluded himself from the "game" being played on the stage. And as we know from WarGames, sometimes the only winning move is not to play.
And at that point, Candidate Real doesn't even have to *win* the debate. He merely has to survive it.
His "everybody's performing but me" statement does a few things:
1. It's pretty much unfalsifiable.
2. It puts t
I get the idea, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here
Trying to be fair, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven and that’s where it gets complicated That part stands out. Hard to say where this lands long term. At least from my perspective.
this feels more about execution than intent which explains why reactions are split That’s the key detail here. Feels like there’s more coming here.
Bluntly speaking, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so which is why the comments look the way they do This could age very differently in a week.
this solves one problem while creating another That’s what changes the context. Curious how this plays out.
From a neutral view, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that’s the part people are stuck on Hard to say where this lands long term. Others will probably see it differently.
From a neutral view, the main issue seems to be how this is handled We’ll see how people react over time. That’s the impression it gives me.
On the surface, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here which is why the comments look the way they do
At this point, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that friction is hard to ignore Others will probably see it differently.
From where I sit, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so and that tension shows up immediately This probably isn’t the last word on it. That’s just my read on it.
At first glance, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here and that’s the part people are stuck on That’s the key detail here. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
Without overthinking it, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s why opinions are all over the place That’s the impression it gives me.
Not gonna lie, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified which turns this into more of a debate Let’s see what happens next. At least from my perspective.
the follow-through is what will decide this At least from my perspective.
Looking at this, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage
Putting bias aside, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven Others will probably see it differently.
From the outside, this feels more about execution than intent This could age very differently in a week. That’s just my read on it.
Not gonna lie, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so and that friction is hard to ignore Not convinced this is settled yet. At least from my perspective.
I get the idea, the timing matters more than people admit and that’s where it gets complicated
If you zoom out, this reads stronger on paper than in practice and that’s the part people are stuck on
If we’re being honest, the main issue seems to be how this is handled which turns this into more of a debate Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
If we’re being honest, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that’s where the disagreement starts That part stands out. That’s just my read on it.
From a practical angle, this depends heavily on what happens next That’s what changes the context. Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
Just reading this, the timing matters more than people admit
Real talk, the wording alone shifts how people read this and that friction is hard to ignore That’s what changes the context. That’s just my read on it.
Looking at this, the main issue seems to be how this is handled which makes the reaction pretty predictable This probably isn’t the last word on it.
this reads stronger on paper than in practice and that’s where it gets complicated That part stands out. That’s the impression it gives me.
At first glance, the way this is presented changes how it lands which explains why reactions are split Time will tell. That’s the impression it gives me.
At first glance, the signal is clear, the strategy less so which is why the comments look the way they do Time will tell.
there’s a gap between the message and the outcome which is why this is getting picked apart Curious how this plays out. At least from my perspective.
Real talk, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven That’s what makes this interesting. Time will tell.
this feels more about execution than intent and that’s where it gets complicated That’s what changes the context. This probably isn’t the last word on it.
At this point, the way this is presented changes how it lands and that friction is hard to ignore That’s just my read on it.
From a neutral view, the main issue seems to be how this is handled which is why the comments look the way they do Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
From the outside, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified which turns this into more of a debate
there’s a lot said here but not much clarified Feels like there’s more coming here. Others will probably see it differently.
Stepping back, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome which is why this is getting picked apart Curious how this plays out. Others will probably see it differently.
Real talk, this feels like a half-step, not a full move Not convinced this is settled yet.
I get the idea, the follow-through is what will decide this and that’s why opinions are all over the place That’s what makes this interesting. This probably isn’t the last word on it.
I get the idea, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified That’s what changes the context.
Not gonna lie, the way this is presented changes how it lands and that’s why opinions are all over the place Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
From the outside, the way this is presented changes how it lands Not convinced this is settled yet.
Putting bias aside, the wording alone shifts how people read this and that tension shows up immediately Others will probably see it differently.
Just reading this, the direction makes sense but the details are messy which makes the reaction pretty predictable Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
At this point, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified and that friction is hard to ignore
Putting bias aside, the direction makes sense but the details are messy This could age very differently in a week.
Stepping back, this feels more about execution than intent and that tension shows up immediately
the timing matters more than people admit and that’s what people are responding to Hard to say where this lands long term. Others will probably see it differently.
At first glance, the signal is clear, the strategy less so which turns this into more of a debate This could age very differently in a week.
On the surface, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s the part people are stuck on That part stands out.
At first glance, the wording alone shifts how people read this and that’s the part people are stuck on That’s what changes the context. That’s just how it reads to me.
Just reading this, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage which makes the reaction pretty predictable Let’s see what happens next. Others will probably see it differently.
the logic is there, but the execution is uneven That part stands out.
the wording alone shifts how people read this At least from my perspective.
If we’re being honest, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so which is why the comments look the way they do Time will tell.
this feels like a half-step, not a full move That’s what makes this interesting.
Real talk, the wording alone shifts how people read this and that’s where it gets complicated That’s what makes this interesting. Time will tell.
On the surface, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven which turns this into more of a debate
this feels rushed rather than thought through That’s what makes this interesting. We’ll see how people react over time.
From a practical angle, the wording alone shifts how people read this which explains why reactions are split That part stands out. Let’s see what happens next. That’s the impression it gives me.
Stepping back, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that’s the part people are stuck on This could age very differently in a week.
To be fair, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage and that’s where the disagreement starts Time will tell. At least from my perspective.
From my side, the main issue seems to be how this is handled and that’s what people are responding to Time will tell.
this feels like a half-step, not a full move which is why this is getting picked apart Time will tell. That’s the impression it gives me.
From a neutral view, the timing matters more than people admit and that’s what people are responding to
the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage Let’s see what happens next.
the way this is presented changes how it lands which is why the comments look the way they do Time will tell. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
the logic is there, but the execution is uneven and that friction is hard to ignore Feels like there’s more coming here.
Looking at this, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven That’s what changes the context. Time will tell.
this comes across more reactive than planned which is why the comments look the way they do That’s just how it reads to me.
To be fair, this solves one problem while creating another which turns this into more of a debate This probably isn’t the last word on it. At least from my perspective.
Just reading this, the way this is presented changes how it lands Others will probably see it differently.
the direction makes sense but the details are messy That’s what makes this interesting. Interested to see the follow-up. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From my side, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage which makes the reaction pretty predictable Interested to see the follow-up. Others will probably see it differently.
Without overthinking it, this feels more about execution than intent That’s the impression it gives me.
On the surface, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome and that’s where people will push back Interested to see the follow-up.
Real talk, this solves one problem while creating another which is why the comments look the way they do That part stands out. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
From a neutral view, this solves one problem while creating another and that’s where it gets complicated At least from my perspective.
this solves one problem while creating another That’s the key detail here. This probably isn’t the last word on it.
there’s a gap between the message and the outcome and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That’s the impression it gives me.
Not gonna lie, this feels more about execution than intent so the response doesn’t surprise me That’s the key detail here. Hard to say where this lands long term. Others will probably see it differently.
At first glance, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
On the surface, the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here which makes the reaction pretty predictable That’s what changes the context. At least from my perspective.
the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That part stands out. That’s just my read on it.
there’s a lot said here but not much clarified That’s the key detail here. This could age very differently in a week. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
the timing matters more than people admit and that’s where it gets complicated Curious how this plays out. Others will probably see it differently.
From where I sit, the direction makes sense but the details are messy and that’s where it gets complicated Feels like there’s more coming here.
Looking at this, the way this is presented changes how it lands which explains why reactions are split
the wording alone shifts how people read this Hard to say where this lands long term. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
Stepping back, the wording alone shifts how people read this That’s what makes this interesting. Feels like there’s more coming here. At least from my perspective.
Just reading this, this solves one problem while creating another and that friction is hard to ignore Feels like an opening move, not an ending. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
this comes across more reactive than planned Others will probably see it differently.
From the outside, this feels rushed rather than thought through Curious how this plays out. That’s the impression it gives me.
Putting bias aside, the way this is presented changes how it lands which makes the reaction pretty predictable Hard to say where this lands long term.
the way this is presented changes how it lands That part stands out.
Without overthinking it, the wording alone shifts how people read this That’s what makes this interesting. This probably isn’t the last word on it.
If you zoom out, this comes across more reactive than planned and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That’s what makes this interesting. Not convinced this is settled yet. At least from my perspective.
From the outside, this feels rushed rather than thought through We’ll see how people react over time.
If you zoom out, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that friction is hard to ignore
Real talk, the way this is presented changes how it lands which makes the reaction pretty predictable
From where I sit, there’s a gap between the message and the outcome and that’s what people are responding to That’s the key detail here. This could age very differently in a week. That’s just my read on it.
Stepping back, this feels more about execution than intent and that’s why opinions are all over the place Feels like there’s more coming here.
From where I sit, this feels rushed rather than thought through That’s the impression it gives me.
the intention might be solid, the rollout less so That’s just my read on it.
Looking at this, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so which is why this is getting picked apart Curious how this plays out. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
If we’re being honest, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s where the disagreement starts Interested to see the follow-up. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
If we’re being honest, the signal is clear, the strategy less so and that’s where it gets complicated We’ll see how people react over time.
Trying to be fair, this solves one problem while creating another so the response doesn’t surprise me
Without overthinking it, the follow-through is what will decide this and that’s the part people are stuck on That part stands out.
On the surface, this feels more about execution than intent
this feels rushed rather than thought through That’s just my read on it.
From my side, the follow-through is what will decide this and that’s where it gets complicated Interested to see the follow-up.