Hillary Clinton unequivocally succeeded in the first debate of this election season.
Monday night was filled with many of Donald Trump’s trademark lies, insults and defenses of racist police procedures.
But the night also featured some of the most well-crafted and delightfully snarky comebacks from former secretary of state, and the only real choice for president, Hillary Clinton.
With remarkably and disappointingly little intervention from moderator Lester Holt, Clinton was bombarded with Trump’s distinct blend of disses and falsehoods.
She proved her point throughout the evening, however, that she definitely has what it takes to be the nation’s next president.
When Trump was asked about his comment that Clinton did not have the look of a president, she simply and politely smiled at him.
She held in laughter as the Republican Party’s chosen presidential candidate claimed perhaps a 400-pound person sitting on their bed hacked into the Democratic National Convention server.
When directly called out on her stamina by the 70-year-old who believes not paying taxes makes him smart, Clinton fired back with a response about her accomplishments that I can only imagine will be printed on tote bags in the near future.
All of this and she still answered the moderator’s questions fully and more specifically and directly than Trump has answered any question in the entirety of his campaign.
To anyone who supports Trump because of his charisma and his attitude — the temperament he says is his greatest asset — I say now is the time to get serious and to look at this nominee’s policies and words more discriminately.
Trump lied about his stance on the Iraq war on national television, defended the stop-and-frisk procedures that have been banned because of their destructive effects on people of color and gave a convoluted answer about his involvement in the birther movement during President Obama’s candidacy.
He did not outline any specific policies or practices that will make America great again but merely claimed certain things were indeed problems that needed to be fixed.
Hopefully, this will be the last thing I feel I have to write about Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. In my mind, he is not suited to be in office. I have formed that opinion after witnessing his and his campaign’s antics for more than a year.
Regardless of who you are voting for — and hopefully you are voting — you must make sure you research and educate yourself on all of the candidates. Watch debates, read the newspaper and discuss with others if you need to.
Whatever you do during this election, do it carefully and thoughtfully. After watching the first debate, I cannot stress that enough.
meickhof@indiana.edu
@maggie_eickhoff
