I did not watch Hillary-Trump II in its entirety. My Dad and I were watching the Rangers-Blue Jays ALDS game, but we check in on the debate in between innings.
While I only saw a little bit of the debate, I saw too much.
Donald Trump was nasty, Hillary Clinton was nasty and Martha Raddatz was even nastier. Her contempt for Trump was plain as day and she made Candy Crowley look like a beacon of objectivity.
At the beginning, Trump seemed, well, low energy. I thought he missed opportunities when they debate Obamacare. He said it was a disaster, but he should have added, "And your husband thinks it's a disaster too." He also botched a question about Islamophobia. Trump made reference to San Bernardino. There were neighbors who saw the perpetrators bring arms into their house, but were afraid to report it for fear of being labelled Islamophobic. Instead, Trump said that Muslims should have reported what was going on. He missed the point entirely.
I thought Trump did better with regard to the tax code stating that if Hillary objected to tax loopholes so strongly she should have voted to close them. Hillary later claimed she did so, but this is no more true than her oft-repeated claim that she created the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (Ted Kennedy was that program's champion).
Of course, Trump calling Hillary the devil is Hugo Chavez stuff. You may remember that is how the late Venezuelan strongman characterized President Bush.
Hillary came off like a Cheshire cat. She was preening, arrogant and overconfident.
As for Martha Raddatz, she was practically cross examining Trump. If any Trump supporters were wavering her conduct will surely put that to an end.
The final question was very telling. An audience member asked the candidates to describe their opponent's best quality. Hillary spoke of Trump's children. Talk about a backhanded compliment. When it came Trump's turn he said he wasn't sure if Hillary meant it as a compliment, but thanked her anyway. Trump then said he admired Hillary's determination and tenacity. For once, Trump took the higher road. Whether that will leave a lasting impression remains to be seen.
Honestly, I don't know if there was a winner in the debate, but there sure was a loser and it is us.
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