1. Mrs. Clinton did what I assume her campaign wanted her to do. She showed her base that she is smart, tough, not easily rattled, very well prepared, and an excellent choice for POTUS. She did not change any minds in the Trump base; however, it is possible that thoughtful, open-minded, undecided voters might give her a closer look.
2. Mr. Trump stayed true to the Trump Way, which is what appeals to his base. He was arrogant, sometimes rude, loose with facts, not well prepared, and slippery. He did not change any minds, with the possible exception of people who were undecided, leaning his way, but also thoughtful and open minded who might question voting for him after seeing this performance.
3. Any candidate running against Trump populism, and who has been in government, has a serious problem that was very clear in this debate. Mr. Trump wants to make America great again. Mrs. Clinton consistently said that government/we need to do better, need to work on this and that, need to improve; this simply validates Mr. Trump's position that things are not good, and need to be fixed, and that the reason things are the way they are is because politicians and political hacks have screwed it up. "You've been in government for almost 30 years and you haven't fix it" was the Trump refrain.
In fact, there is some truth to the Trump assertions. Mass incarceration didn't just happen by itself, government made it happen, and therefore "we need to fix the justice system (Mrs. Clinton)." Poverty, the recession, gang violence, jobs going overseas, trade imbalances, national debt, and etc. didn't just happen, government made or allowed it to happen. Because he has never been in government, Mr. Trump can point the finger at any and every politician who has, and place the blame for every grievance people have with government.
If nothing else, the first debate lived up to our expectations - Trump was Trump.
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He is a lying blowhard who has no solutions for anything. While there have been failings in government his comments are simply a distraction from his own failures and crimes.
ReplyDeleteMike...agree, he is an ignorant boob. And that is why his base likes him. He dumps fuel on the flames of anti-governmentism and his base dances around the bonfire. Those if us who are not intoxicated on the Trump cool aid (made in China, of course) can clearly see that the self-appointed emperor is stark naked, but those who are drunk on his bullshit think he is the hero who will save us. His lies, his business history, his personal life and etc. are irrelevant to those voters. Bizarre.
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