Editorial

In his own words

Wasn’t a good night for The Donald

"Here's hoping the man is just playing the expectations game and has been working behind the scenes like he wants the job. This isn't reality TV any longer. It's reality on TV. The American people have a difficult choice to make in November--a choice that few seem happy with. They deserve to have their candidates prepared and ready to answer questions on small matters like life and death, foreign wars, terrorism, jobs back home and violence in our streets. Labor Day was weeks ago. Even by historical standards in this Republic, it's time to get busy and take the campaign seriously. We the People deserve to have the candidates in both major parties giving it their best. Trying, at least."

--Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Sept. 26

What, Donald Trump worry? What, Donald Trump prepare? Why prepare for a debate when he has such a big brain? (Yes, he said that once.) Besides, if he ever needs advice on something like national defense or foreign policy, he can always turn to the Sunday morning shows. (Yes, he said that once.)

No wonder Hillary Clinton was all smiles Monday night and in the days following. Every time she baited him, he took the hook, line, sinker, reel, and part of the boat.

No matter what a handful, and only a handful, of people might have said on social media Tuesday morning, Donald Trump looked woefully unprepared to be president of the United States. He looked woefully unprepared to be a candidate. Only blind hatred of anything Clinton could possibly make somebody think otherwise. Folks, when Rush Limbaugh spends his Tuesday program using words and phrases like disappointed, missed opportunities and he'll-do-better-next-time, you know The Donald had an awful night. If he had just been bad, his friend El Rushbo would have spun it into gold.

The worst part of the night--the part that made us wince--was when Donald Trump begged people to call up his other buddy, Sean Hannity at Fox News, to prove he opposed the Second Iraq War from the beginning, no matter what he'd said to others (and on the record at that). Seven times he invoked Sean Hannity's name. Fox News must be so proud.

No, no, no, the worst part of the night--the part that made us wince--was when Hillary Clinton accused him of racist policies when he rented apartments (or didn't) to black folks in the 1970s. Donald Trump's answer: Everybody did it.

"Now, as far as the lawsuit, yes, when I was very young, I went into my father's company, had a real estate company in Brooklyn and Queens, and we, along with many, many other companies throughout the country--it was a federal lawsuit--were sued. We settled the suit with zero--with no admission of guilt. It was very easy to do."

And, he added helpfully: "I look at that, and I say, isn't that amazing? Because I settled that lawsuit with no admission of guilt, but that was a lawsuit brought against many real estate firms, and it's just one of those things."

Just one of those things.

No, no, no, the worst part of the night--the part that made us wince--was when Mrs. Clinton said he might be afraid to show the nation his tax returns because he might not have paid any federal taxes. To which he interrupted: "That makes me smart."

So those of us who pay taxes aren't? Or not as smart?

No, no, no, the worst part of the night--the part that made us wince--was when he was taken to task about his habit of stiffing other business owners and workers who contracted to do work for him. After Mrs. Clinton mentioned one architect particularly, Mr. Trump responded:

"Maybe he didn't do a good job and I was unsatisfied with his work."

No, no, no, the worst part of the night--the part that made us wince--was when Donald Trump said he has a better temperament than Hillary Clinton and the audience burst into laughter.

Gentle Reader and Valued Voter, you deserve better. Hillary Clinton has enough baggage to fill a lorry. Our Lady of Benghazi plays hide and seek with the truth on too frequent an occasion, and the comparisons to Richard Nixon in that way are perfectly appropriate. She was part of an administration that saw the rise of ISIS, the implosion of Syria and a breakdown of law and order in this country. She got away the other night without having to answer one question about her and her husband's foundation. (Even if Lester Holt didn't bring it up, a prepared Donald Trump could have.) Hillary Clinton needs to come clean about more than just emails and servers.

Donald Trump missed so many opportunities in the debate, even the conservative media were confused. When Hillary Clinton said her economic plan would create 10 million new jobs, while his would kill 3.5 million, he should have said, "Your plan is to increase taxes and add more regulations, and if you think that will increase job growth, you just don't understand economics. You only have to look at the slowest recovery ever to realize that higher taxes and more regs don't work."

As we said last week, We the People deserve to have presidential candidates who at least prepare for debates, and, yes, that includes an atypical candidate like Donald Trump. Maybe even especially an atypical candidate like Donald Trump.

The next debate is Oct. 9. Maybe he'll take that one seriously.

Editorial on 09/29/2016

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