Washington University POTUS debate at 9pm ET **live commentary thread**

[Mr. Smith]

NO HANDSHAKE

Wow.

Mind...blown

[Mr. Smith]

This question is such a softball.

Yes and no.

Decent stock answer from Hillary

[Mr. Smith]

trump being restrained. Not answering the question...but that restraint.

...Dammit!

[Mr. Smith]

The worst part is Trump's gonna gain from this - he probably won

Agreed.

...Hey look trump's being Jim Webb now.

[Mr. Smith]

Im sorry, who the hell thinks Trump is doing better? Hillary is slightly off her game but Trump is just as terrible.

And that's all it'll take.

I'm anti-Trump, but he's KILLING it. Wow. He's pulling off a Reagan 1980.

I watched that debate when it happened, and no he isn't, by a long shot.  He's only looking better this time because he had such a low bar of expectations after his first performance.  

Reagan 1980 was seen as unstable and dangerous, and he came across as calm and presidential. Trump's demeanor is the right mix of calm, deliberate, and aggressive. He is pounding Clinton on policy and her record. Wow.

Just delete your account.

Why? He ain't wrong.


Hillary talking about "the black kid worrying about being deported to Ethiopia" and children listen is waay too close to Carter's "my daughter's big concern is nukes" for my liking.

[Mr. Smith]

Im sorry, who the hell thinks Trump is doing better? Hillary is slightly off her game but Trump is just as terrible.

And that's all it'll take.

I'm anti-Trump, but he's KILLING it. Wow. He's pulling off a Reagan 1980.

I watched that debate when it happened, and no he isn't, by a long shot.  He's only looking better this time because he had such a low bar of expectations after his first performance.  

Reagan 1980 was seen as unstable and dangerous, and he came across as calm and presidential. Trump's demeanor is the right mix of calm, deliberate, and aggressive. He is pounding Clinton on policy and her record. Wow.

Just delete your account.

Why? He ain't wrong.

Trump is nowhere close to being Reagan. Reagan was not a deranged, angry psycho on cocaine.

No, he was a deranged, passive-aggressively angry psycho who could throw a good one-liner.

[Mr. Smith]

I do think Trump has been winning most of the debate.  It started out horrible for him.  The first 20 minutes were cringe worthy.  Everything else has been a Trump win in my opinion.

LMAO.

K?  Sorry I'm not towing the Clinton-line on here.  Seriously, I'm voting for Hillary, but the circle-jerk here is pathetic.

The man is unhinged.  You think that is winning? 

Yeah, for at least the last 45 mins.  Hillary has talked around every question, every issue.  Whatever though, I already know you're about to throw some personal attacks and f bombs my way!

What? Trump hasn't actually answered a question all night. Just attacks Hillary and rambles about random unrelated things.

True, but this election from the start has been like that.

[Mr. Smith]

Im sorry, who the hell thinks Trump is doing better? Hillary is slightly off her game but Trump is just as terrible.

And that's all it'll take.

I'm anti-Trump, but he's KILLING it. Wow. He's pulling off a Reagan 1980.

I watched that debate when it happened, and no he isn't, by a long shot.  He's only looking better this time because he had such a low bar of expectations after his first performance.  

Reagan 1980 was seen as unstable and dangerous, and he came across as calm and presidential. Trump's demeanor is the right mix of calm, deliberate, and aggressive. He is pounding Clinton on policy and her record. Wow.

Just delete your account.

Why? He ain't wrong.

Trump is nowhere close to being Reagan. Reagan was not a deranged, angry psycho on cocaine.

No, he was a deranged, passive-aggressively angry psycho who could throw a good one-liner.

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

I don't sleep at night, and Hillary's meandering and thus indirectly bringing trump back up is only gonna make it worse.




@musicblind:

The debates usually are pointless, unless one candidate seriously flubs it bad or has really really low expectations but ends up sounding competent.

Besides Town Halls, they're just a bunch of two people press conferences anyway with little useful input because it's pet moderators, in which the "zinger" makes it work.

And even then, the sides usually stay entrenched anyway.

Trump tonight:

Split with Pence on Syria
Threatened to jail opponent
Admitted to paying no taxes

And people think he won?

Considering how long-winded to the point of seeming indecisive Hillary was, absolutely.

[Mr. Smith]

@BBCiPannell: "Wow - a gracious tone to a bitter and ugly #PresidentialDebate. Maybe the man who asked the question should be advising both"

@KattyKayBBC: "The risk for Trump tonight was total implosion and more desertions from Republicans - that didn't happen. In that sense, he won."

@BBCJamesCook: "Trump rambled. He said some extraordinary things. But he was tough & quick in debate and he survived 90 minutes that could have been fatal."

So what I'm getting from this is basically "Trump didn't sh**t on the stage, so he wins."

I rest my case.

How can a man win without being able to stitch together a single coherent thought in an answer.

When the other candidate is so far hated that it'd take the previous debate performance for them to admit that possibly the enemy has a higher moral ground and might be better.

[Mr. Smith]

An interesting perspective just stated on CNN: Hillary Clinton won because she lost tonights debate.

If Trump had completely unhinged in this debate the Republicans just might have abandoned Trump and put up a new candidate that just might have had a chance of winning the election after all.

*thinking and scratching head*

Grasping straws much CNN?

[Mr. Smith]

How can a man win without being able to stitch together a single coherent thought in an answer.

Those of us who post here are relatively intelligent, knowledgeable, and well-educated. The VAST majority of the American voters are not. They are swayed by emotion, nonverbal gestures, one-liners, and overall tone. In those areas, Trump did well tonight. Undecided voters don't care whether Trump's tax policy did not add up.

If policy knowledge was what moved the election, Al Gore would have been President.

Dubious example: John Kerry or Jimmy Carter would be better examples.



Also since Fox News has the last debate, it looks like we've got a reverse 2012 on our hands. Just as Romney won the first of 2012, followed by Biden stopping the direction, and then Obama coming in...so it is that trump shall win the final debate, after this and Pence.

[Mr. Smith]

Even if Hillary wins, she will be a one-term president

Whoever wins this will be. trump's just too dangerous to chance even once.

If it were Kasich or Rubio, odds such as these wouldn't hurt as much.