09-27-2016, 09:36 PM
Read this on the Facebook page Unbiased America. I think it's a good take:
The first debate is in the books. And our prediction was pretty much spot on.
HILLARY CLINTON: Hillary had a strong performance, as expected. Her experience advantage in debates made a big difference. She was calm, didn't get flustered as many of Trump's past opponents did, and stuck to her talking points. Indeed she was the more aggressive debater, attacking Donald on his taxes, his businesses, his questionable past statements, and keeping him on the defensive for much of the night. Most of all, she had no major gaffes, which is the number one rule of debating.
On the downside, she didn't really make much of a case for why people should vote for her. Most of her talking points consisted of empty rhetoric and platitudes, the type of forgettable political speak that goes in one ear and out the other. Still, better to be forgettable than to screw up.
DONALD TRUMP: The first portion of the debate went well for Donald. The topic, trade, was right in his populist wheelhouse. He pointed out the inconsistencies of Hillary's evolving positions, her connection to unpopular trade agreements, etc.
But as the night went on, a trend became apparent. Hillary would criticize him, and Donald would get flustered trying to defend himself. There was an especially uncomfortable moment in which Trump rambled, to which Hillary responded with an eye roll and "Oh Donald", eliciting laughter from the audience.
When he stuck to the issues and his talking points, he was very effective, especially in raising questions about Hillary's policies. But when he went off topic, he came across poorly. Not a disaster, but not a great performance.
LESTER HOLT: The moderator let the candidates talk and did fairly well for the most part. But he wasn't entirely impartial.
There was one Candy Crowley moment in which Holt injected himself into the debate by telling Trump that he was wrong, similar to what Crowley had done to Mitt Romney in 2012. Holt insisted that there was no evidence Trump had been against the Iraqi War, despite Donald insisting he had been. It was bizarre and inappropriate, in my opinion. And Holt was also wrong, just as Crowley had been in 2012. There is evidence Trump was against the Iraq War - http://www.foxnews.com/…/2003-clip-backs-up-trump-on-iraq-w…
Holt also seemed to target Trump for most of the controversial questions of the night, such as his birther comments and his tax returns, while giving Hillary softball questions. Overall it was what most expected it would be, a biased performance, though not as bad as it could have been given all the talk about the need for moderators to "get tough on Trump".
THE MEDIA: The media's reaction has been very predictable. So far nearly all have pronounced it a Hillary victory, and focused on Trump's negatives. Unfortunately for Donald, he performed just badly enough that most voters will agree with the media. Still, there's no way to predict how people will react until new polls come out. He could very well continue to gain support. Stay tuned...
The first debate is in the books. And our prediction was pretty much spot on.
HILLARY CLINTON: Hillary had a strong performance, as expected. Her experience advantage in debates made a big difference. She was calm, didn't get flustered as many of Trump's past opponents did, and stuck to her talking points. Indeed she was the more aggressive debater, attacking Donald on his taxes, his businesses, his questionable past statements, and keeping him on the defensive for much of the night. Most of all, she had no major gaffes, which is the number one rule of debating.
On the downside, she didn't really make much of a case for why people should vote for her. Most of her talking points consisted of empty rhetoric and platitudes, the type of forgettable political speak that goes in one ear and out the other. Still, better to be forgettable than to screw up.
DONALD TRUMP: The first portion of the debate went well for Donald. The topic, trade, was right in his populist wheelhouse. He pointed out the inconsistencies of Hillary's evolving positions, her connection to unpopular trade agreements, etc.
But as the night went on, a trend became apparent. Hillary would criticize him, and Donald would get flustered trying to defend himself. There was an especially uncomfortable moment in which Trump rambled, to which Hillary responded with an eye roll and "Oh Donald", eliciting laughter from the audience.
When he stuck to the issues and his talking points, he was very effective, especially in raising questions about Hillary's policies. But when he went off topic, he came across poorly. Not a disaster, but not a great performance.
LESTER HOLT: The moderator let the candidates talk and did fairly well for the most part. But he wasn't entirely impartial.
There was one Candy Crowley moment in which Holt injected himself into the debate by telling Trump that he was wrong, similar to what Crowley had done to Mitt Romney in 2012. Holt insisted that there was no evidence Trump had been against the Iraqi War, despite Donald insisting he had been. It was bizarre and inappropriate, in my opinion. And Holt was also wrong, just as Crowley had been in 2012. There is evidence Trump was against the Iraq War - http://www.foxnews.com/…/2003-clip-backs-up-trump-on-iraq-w…
Holt also seemed to target Trump for most of the controversial questions of the night, such as his birther comments and his tax returns, while giving Hillary softball questions. Overall it was what most expected it would be, a biased performance, though not as bad as it could have been given all the talk about the need for moderators to "get tough on Trump".
THE MEDIA: The media's reaction has been very predictable. So far nearly all have pronounced it a Hillary victory, and focused on Trump's negatives. Unfortunately for Donald, he performed just badly enough that most voters will agree with the media. Still, there's no way to predict how people will react until new polls come out. He could very well continue to gain support. Stay tuned...
![[Image: Cz_eGI3UUAASnqC.jpg]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cz_eGI3UUAASnqC.jpg)
