The debate

By Tom Quiner

This really wasn’t a debate.

Very little of substance was unfolded before a watching, hyper-ventilating nation.

In Donald Trump, we have a man who has risen to the top through a cult of personality. He has little of substance to say on policy, and on his core issues, he is off base. He is a man light on character for which he overcompensates by loading up with heavy doses of bluster and ad hominem attacks.

In Hillary Clinton, we have a woman who has risen to the top through a cult of corruption. She does have much to say on policy, and these policies have a historic record of failure. She is a woman light on character for which she overcompensates by doubling down with heavy doses of deceit and a disingenuous concern for the ‘little guy.’

Did the debate help Trump? I don’t think so. I thought his performance was terrible. Hillary had him on the defensive most of the evening. Core supporters are surely unaffected. But how about undecided swing voters? Did they see enough to convince them that Mr. Trump has the right stuff to be president? I don’t know, but I’m dubious.

Did the debate help Hillary? I think so. Hillary detractors, such as I, were put off by her smirking and overall smugness, which she has a hard time suppressing. Nonetheless, it seemed she came across as sufficiently presidential to sooth the concerns of undecideds who are holding their nose as they try to figure out for whom to vote.

Okay, having said all of that, Trump did score some points, especially on the issue of ‘law and order.’ Moderator Lester Holt pulled a Candy Crowley by advancing a falsehood, namely that ‘stop and frisk’ was unconstitutional.

It’s not.

Trump swatted that falsehood down effectively.

Despite Hillary’s cooing assertions that crime rates are dropping, the country knows better. And they know it’s going to get worse if politically-correct law enforcement procedures are imposed on every police department in America, which is the aim of liberals like Hillary.

Under a President Trump, there is little question that cities have a better chance to right the ship than under a President Clinton who views those with whom she disagrees as being deplorable scum bags.

Trump was surging in the polls coming into this debate. Will this debate stall the surge?

That is the question.