Monday, September 26, 2016

Trump must attack Clinton's TRUST issues!

Weekly Opinion Editorial
EXPERIENCE DOESN’T MEAN COMPETENCE!
by Steve Fair
     The first presidential debate was held on Monday.  Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton squared off at Hofstra University with NBC anchor Lester Holt as moderator.  The debate was divided into six 15-minute segments on three topics; Achieving Prosperity, The Direction of America, Securing America.  Each candidate got two minutes to respond to each question.  Here are my observations:
     First, Holt was not a neutral moderator.  At times, Lester was helping Hillary.  He questioned Trump on his answers and at times argued with him.  He never did that to Clinton.  Trump wisely didn’t call out Holt because it would have looked like whining, but facts are facts; Holt is clearly a liberal who supports Hillary.  The media’s support of the liberal agenda is well known, but it is irritating when they present themselves as neutral.
     Second, Clinton didn’t perform badly at the debate.  While she had a ‘blinking eye’ attack during one of Trump’s responses, overall she didn’t look like she was sick.  She generally addressed the questions and was clear on her agenda; tax the rich, redistribution of wealth, take away private gun ownership, and neuter law enforcement.  Even if you disagreed with Clinton’s answers, there was little doubt where she stood on the issues.
     Third, Trump could have done better.  That’s not to say he did poorly- he didn’t- but he should have taken the opportunity to attack her more on the Email scandal.  Hillary has said she had no idea about modern computer technology and yet she claimed she would protect America from cyber-attacks.  Trump gave her a pass.  He also could have attacked her on Benghazi and it never came up.  He never mentioned the Clinton foundation. It appeared he had a case of the sniffles and that was ironic since he has talked about Hillary’s coughing so much. He didn’t hit it out of the park, but he didn’t strike out either. 
      Fourth, once again race came up in a debate.  Hillary tried to paint Trump as a racist, but fact is she has referred to African-American youth as ‘superpredators.’  Trump has made major gains with minorities because he has correctly pointed out the Democrat Party has done nothing for minorities.  “They simply tell them all these great things they are going to do, but never do anything except see you in four years,” Trump said. 
     Fifth, Trump was gracious and didn’t attack her on a personal level.  Clinton was nasty toward Donald, calling him a racist and a sexist.  Trump said he thought about coming back at her, but chose not to when he looked and saw Chelsea in the audience. Hillary’s strategy to attack Trump on how he treats women is a risky one.  Bill Clinton has been accused of sexual assault and has many mistresses in his background.  Many believe that Hillary not only knew about Bill’s wandering eye, but approved of the serial philandering.
     Trump actually did well in pointing out the NAFTA treaty has resulted in unfair trade practices with Mexico.  He correctly pointed out that politicians most often fail to deliver on promises.  He scored a body blow when he said that Clinton’s poor judgment is one of the reasons ISIS exists. He said she didn’t have the temperate or stimuli to be the POTUS.   “She has experience, but its bad experience,” Trump concluded. 
     With a little more preparation, Trump could have mopped the floor with Clinton at the debate.  He can ill afford to miss opportunities when he can speak directly to millions of voters and contrast himself with Clinton.  She was clearly more prepared.  Trump was like a poorly prepared superior football team that escapes with a win with a last minute field goal over a lesser opponent. Not many ‘swing’ voters were moved one way or the other.  Trump must do better if he expects to win.
 

No comments: