Spin Doctors: Views on the Debates from the Cubicle Staff
Where are we at and where do we go from here?
KEVIN KAFOURY:
He didn’t hit Hillary hard on e-mails.
He didn’t hit Hillary hard on Benghazi.
And he certainly didn’t bring up Bill Clinton’s sexually promiscuous past.
So what did Donald Trump do during the first Presidential Debate? Only established himself as the formidable alternative to the status quo that is Hillary Clinton.
No doubt, Clinton is a policy wonk with years of experience in two branches of federal government. She is a Yale educated lawyer who has been involved with politics most of her life. But Trump questioned tonight whether any of that should matter to the American electorate. After Clinton showcased her plan on how to defeat ISIS, shared with the audience the extensive history of her diplomatic undertakings, and flaunted her service in elected office, Trump had one question: If you have been doing this for thirty years, why are we supposed to believe you now?
It is a question that set the tone for the rest of the debate. If he had said nothing else tonight, Trump would have won the debate on that question alone. You might recall, just eight years ago, we had another Ivy League lawyer and career politician running for president, offering all sorts of political sound-bytes and massive promises throughout his campaign. He won. Fast-forward two terms, and where do we stand? (hint: not a very good place). Trump might not have hit Clinton hard on the e-mails, Benghazi, or any of her other myriad missteps, but that is why there are two more debates. What he did do was point out the failed policies of the Obama/Clinton economic and foreign policy agenda. Time and again, he fielded Clinton’s insults with grace, and returned fire with a simple, yet monumental point: Why haven’t your policies worked?
There is a reason Trump garnered more primary votes than any Republican presidential candidate in the history of the United States, and he showed us that reason last night. Referencing his business acumen and success in building, Trump made clear that we need a country that is “ahead of schedule and under budget,” just like his sparkling new D.C. hotel. While Trump noted that he has employed tens of thousands of people over the course of his lifetime, Hillary rattled on about her far-fetched economic policies. She wants to keep many of these policies consistent with the Obama agenda that has buried our country in a staggering $20 trillion pile of debt (free college totally makes sense when you are in that much debt).
To Hillary’s credit, she remained confident and cough-free last night, but America wants real change, not more of the same. With his debate performance, Donald Trump solidified himself as the candidate who will do the most for our country and bring about that change. That is what your average American craves.
ANDREW BEASLEY:
A presidential debate may be one of the few forms of debate in which ad hominem attacks are actually relevant. While normally there is a separation between a position being defended and the person doing the defending, last night they were one and the same. Both candidates sought to point out the other’s flaws, not in policy, but in character. And although both were able to land some punches, Clinton came out ahead by remaining collected while Trump repeatedly lost his cool.
Clinton finds herself in an unfortunate situation. If she attacks vigorously, pundits describe her as condescending and shrill. If she holds back, she is criticized for not acting aggressively. There is a fine line between the two that Clinton as a presidential candidate must walk, and so far she has been unable to find it.
She certainly didn’t succeed last night. She presented herself well, but you could tell she was hesitant to really dig in on points and missed several excellent opportunities to go on the offensive when Donald made remarks such as saying his ability to avoid paying taxes means he’s “smart.” She relied too heavily on the media to pick apart the things Trump said, rather than addressing them herself on live tv. While it ended up not hurting her, most sources have given Hillary the win for last night’s debate, the night certainly could have gone a different way.
In fact, in the first ten minutes of the debate, Donald Trump was winning. He came out presenting himself as a reserved and thoughtful politician. He looked tough and capable. He looked like someone you could trust to run a country. For viewers who only watched the beginning of the debate, I’m sure it seemed as though Trump was the winner. If he had kept up that persona for 90 minutes next to Hillary’s tactic of holding back, he would have swept the polls today. But a few insults later, it all fell apart.
There are two more debates. The winner of the first, while important, isn’t decisive (see Romney in 2012). The Trump camp has to start developing solid policy talking points. Name dropping past policies like Trickle-Down (yes, Hillary brought it up but it’s become a Trump camp talking point this morning) and Stop-and-Frisk hurt him because they come with too much baggage. He represents the alternative to the current status quo and for that reason he needs to present plans that are fresh. At the very least he needs to come up with a new face for old ideas. If the debates don’t move away from ad hominem and into policy comparisons, Trump will not perform well. He is great at throwing out insults, but not good at taking them in stride. The times he looked his best tonight were the times when he was standing strong on policy and arguing for the strengths of ideas rather than his own personal strength.
The candidates have both made their cases about how horrible their opponent is. The voters that could have been swayed by those arguments have already been swayed. If either camp is going to win over undecided voters, they need to find new ways to appeal to them, new ways to present themselves. Instead, the 90 minutes we watched last night (excluding the opening segment) merely presented a condensed version of exactly what we’ve been seeing for the past few months.
