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
Not gonna lie, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone Others will probably see it differently.
Putting bias aside, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven and that’s the part people are stuck on That’s what changes the context. This probably isn’t the last word on it.
Without overthinking it, the direction makes sense but the details are messy and that friction is hard to ignore
Reaction: Me_irl
there’s a lot said here but not much clarified Feels like there’s more coming here.
Trying to be fair, the direction makes sense but the details are messy Feels like there’s more coming here. That’s just my read on it.
the way this is presented changes how it lands so the response doesn’t surprise me Interested to see the follow-up.
Trying to be fair, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified which is why this is getting picked apart That’s what makes this interesting. Curious how this plays out.
the follow-through is what will decide this and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That’s just how it reads to me.
From where I sit, the direction makes sense but the details are messy which is why the comments look the way they do
Real talk, this feels more about execution than intent and that tension shows up immediately Time will tell.
To be fair, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s why this won’t land the same for everyone That part stands out. We’ll see how people react over time.
At this point, the direction makes sense but the details are messy and that’s where it gets complicated That part stands out. Not convinced this is settled yet.
Reaction: Downvote away
If you zoom out, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s the part people are stuck on That’s the impression it gives me.
At this point, the direction makes sense but the details are messy That’s what changes the context. Feels like an opening move, not an ending. That’s the impression it gives me.
the wording alone shifts how people read this and that’s why opinions are all over the place Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
If you zoom out, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so which is why this is getting picked apart Not convinced this is settled yet.
Real talk, the main issue seems to be how this is handled which is why the comments look the way they do That’s the key detail here.
Honestly, this depends heavily on what happens next so the response doesn’t surprise me Others will probably see it differently.
Without overthinking it, the wording alone shifts how people read this We’ll see how people react over time. At least from my perspective.
To be fair, the wording alone shifts how people read this which is why the comments look the way they do
I get the idea, this feels like a half-step, not a full move and that’s the part people are stuck on Others will probably see it differently.
To be fair, the direction makes sense but the details are messy which is why the comments look the way they do
Putting bias aside, this reads stronger on paper than in practice That’s what makes this interesting. That’s just my read on it.
If you zoom out, the intention might be solid, the rollout less so so the response doesn’t surprise me That’s what makes this interesting. Feels like there’s more coming here. That’s just my read on it.
the framing does a lot of heavy lifting here That’s the key detail here. We’ll see how people react over time. That’s the impression it gives me.
this feels more about execution than intent Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.
this solves one problem while creating another so the response doesn’t surprise me
If we’re being honest, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified and that’s why opinions are all over the place That’s what makes this interesting. Feels like an opening move, not an ending.
On the surface, the follow-through is what will decide this so the response doesn’t surprise me
On the surface, this solves one problem while creating another and that friction is hard to ignore
From the outside, there’s a lot said here but not much clarified and that’s where the disagreement starts Interested to see the follow-up.
From my side, the follow-through is what will decide this This probably isn’t the last word on it.
I get the idea, this comes across more reactive than planned and that friction is hard to ignore That’s what makes this interesting.
At first glance, this comes across more reactive than planned
the signal is clear, the strategy less so which turns this into more of a debate We’ll see how people react over time.
From my side, the timing matters more than people admit and that’s the part people are stuck on
Reaction: Mr. Obama, forgive me
Reaction: Just always
If we’re being honest, the logic is there, but the execution is uneven which is why the comments look the way they do
On the surface, the way this is presented changes how it lands and that’s what people are responding to
At first glance, the main issue seems to be how this is handled and that’s what people are responding to We’ll see how people react over time.
I get the idea, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s what changes the context. This probably isn’t the last word on it. That’s the impression it gives me.
At this point, the idea isn’t bad, but the delivery is doing damage That’s the key detail here. Could be wrong, but that’s how it comes across.