Of course we all see things through our own prisms -- Huffington Post says HRC crushed DT (Orange Crush) while Breitbart says DT won. What I saw was HRC giving coherent positions on multiple topics while DT hammered a few broad points over and over, sometimes degenerating into word salad as the evening wore on. You can read the transcripts for the specifics -- it's late as I type this and I'm ready to go to bed. In any event, I doubt that folks watch the debates to learn the candidates' views on various issues -- those have been made clear over and over during the past months. I think that the whole point of the debates is to assess the candidates' demeanor in a stressful and challenging situation. How will he/she act and respond?
The big takeaway for me was that HRC acted like a rational, polite, and extremely well-prepared adult, answering the questions that were asked then listening attentively and almost expressionlessly when DT spoke. DT, on the other hand, responded to the questions, when he did respond, in the vaguest way, with the empty assurances and superlatives that have come to typify his speeches. He let it be known that he cared about the situation in Charlotte and crime in Chicago because he has property there and he talked about his new hotel and all his great business experience.When HRC spoke, he rolled his eyes, interrupted, made faces, drank water, interrupted (70 times, by one count,) and smirked. I suppose it is to his credit that he didn't actually call her Crooked Hillary. He told us how awful things are in our country and touted law and order, stop and frisk. He sold fear. She spoke to the strengths of our country while acknowledging problems and offering nuanced approaches for improvement. She sold hope. I've known all along that I would support HRC as I would support any Democrat over a Republican but this debate made me an enthusiastic supporter. I thought she was terrific -- one might even say presidential. And she came across, to me, at least, as very likable. Funny, even, at times. If you are one of my few readers who supports DT, your take is probably different. I won't convince you -- and you have no chance at all of convincing me.
