There were NO hostages taken last night at Hofstra University, during the first 2016 Presidential Debate.
But, when the circus left town, every one could have found something that had entertained them.
American politics, NOT just this election year, but going back to 1980 – when Reagan beat Carter – has become a “clown act.”
In thinking about it, it goes back better than thirty-six years ago, when Ted Turner changed the face of world news with the start-up of the 24-hour news cycle known as CNN.
Nothing has been close to sanity since that time!
Over the last fifteen years, we’ve had the tremendous influx of instantaneous technology, and immediate social news, and BANG!…we’re ALL actors on that stage.
Thus, the circus was in town last night in Hempstead, New York.
First impression at the start of the evening, NBC’s anchor, Lester Holt, and the debate moderator, was way, way out of his depth. After he was introduced, it became immediately apparent, to me, he was going to be in serious trouble – obvious nervousness; quivering voice; and, surprisingly, continuous shuttering (which showed during his questioning of the two candidates over the course of their ninety-five minute fiasco).
Holt NEVER gained control of the debate: a) allowed BOTH candidates to constantly extend beyond their allotted time – NOT by a few seconds here and there, but by minutes, during each segment of questioning/responses; b) allowed BOTH to constantly talk in generalities, and NOT specifics – especially with Trump on his taxes, his eight year run with birtherism on Obama, civil rights and NATO; and, c) NEVER brought up to Clinton the matter of partial immunity being granted for five of her personal staff/IT personnel vis a vis their Congressional and FBI testimonies surrounding her private server scandal; as well as NOTHING on the Benghazi State Department killings; and whether there was any reason to be concerned with the possibilities of a “pay-for-play” within The Clinton Foundation as regards foreign countries/leaders/business persons.
There’s little doubt that Grandma Clinton won on debating points. She can master a briefing book, and hours of pre-debate prep, from the first answer she dumped most of it on The Weave. And, the longer the debate rolled along, the more obvious his lack of debate preparation was to any object observer. Countless sniffles! Beaucoup slips of aqua! The central argument of her campaign is to elect her because The Dishonest Don is “unfit” to be President, and her strategy was to taunt him with attacks on his business record that ALWAYS seem to drive him to distraction, and become visibly unhinged.
And sure enough, Carrot Top often took the bait, wasting time on details about his company’s history while barely going on offense against the Clinton Foundation. He also could NOT resist a long, defensive explanation of his opposition to the Iraq war, and why he has NOT released his tax returns.
Lobster on the Prairie 