‘Saving the country from Donald Trump isn’t enough of a message’
A letter to Hillary Clinton before the first presidential debate.
Dear Hillary Clinton,
The debates give you the best opportunity to describe a real vision of where you want to lead the country and to get voters excited about a future you can help create as president.
Saving the country from Donald Trump isn’t enough of a message. Your toughness and readiness to do battle with him have been amply demonstrated. Most voters already know why they should not vote for Trump.
But they are not sure they can trust your leadership to bring about change in Washington, D.C. They worry that you will be “more of the same.” So it’s vital that you have a crisp, forward-looking message about why you want to be president, where you’ll lead the country, and how you will improve the lives of people. Many of your specific policy proposals actually do this. Show that you are excited about enacting them and that you have a record of getting things done by building bipartisan alliances. Cite your accomplishments, so the audience knows it can count on you to get the job done. Rinse and repeat.
Stay on the high road and don’t let Trump drag you down.
Best of luck,
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Follow live coverage of the presidential debates on theguardian.com. Ahead of tonight’s, we’re asking ten awkward questions to put the candidates on the spot.
