The Last Great Debate
The ‘Last Great Debate’ starts in a few hours.
In a nutshell a political debate like this one boils down to a simple fact: It’s a confrontation between two people – who’re facing each other across a stage – who each want to prove he or she will be a better President or Governor or Senator.
To quote a cliché Donald Trump’s problem is his ‘temperament’ – a lot of people aren’t voting for Trump because of his tendency to end up in shouting matches with beauty queens and Gold Star families. When a woman accuses him of molesting her, Trump can’t solve that problem by pointing fingers at her and saying, She’s a liar. He needs facts.
The other day one of Trump’s campaign aides claimed that first class seats on Braniff Airline’s planes in the 1970’s were immobile – that they couldn’t be lifted. If that’s true, it’s a fact Donald Trump can cite to prove the story one of his accusers told, about him molesting her on an airplane, was not true.
The same holds for Trump’s oft-repeated mantra that ‘this election is rigged.’ Anyone can stand up and say, My opponent’s stealing the election. To make his claim believable Trump needs facts: Who’s voted illegally? Where? When? Trump needs to give specific examples of people voting illegally.
Hillary’s facing the other side of the same coin but her task is a bit different: She needs to confront Trump – to goad him, if you will – by asking questions. She might ask: Can you name one election, just one single election, that was lost because people voted illegally? Or she might ask: Six women have accused you of unwanted sexual advances – can you give a fact that shows even one of their stories is untrue?
The ‘Last Great Debate’ is going to be the last opportunity Donald Trump will have to look Hillary Clinton in the eye and prove he’d make a better President. Hyperbole, bluster, and political slogans won’t cut the mustard: Tonight Donald Trump (and Hillary Clinton too) needs to get down to the facts.
The Last Great Debate
The ‘Last Great Debate’ starts in a few hours.
In a nutshell a political debate like this one boils down to a simple fact: It’s a confrontation between two people – who’re facing each other across a stage – who each want to prove he or she will be a better President or Governor or Senator.
To quote a cliché Donald Trump’s problem is his ‘temperament’ – a lot of people aren’t voting for Trump because of his tendency to end up in shouting matches with beauty queens and Gold Star families. When a woman accuses him of molesting her, Trump can’t solve that problem by pointing fingers at her and saying, She’s a liar. He needs facts.
The other day one of Trump’s campaign aides claimed that first class seats on Braniff Airline’s planes in the 1970’s were immobile – that they couldn’t be lifted. If that’s true, it’s a fact Donald Trump can cite to prove the story one of his accusers told, about him molesting her on an airplane, was not true.
The same holds for Trump’s oft-repeated mantra that ‘this election is rigged.’ Anyone can stand up and say, My opponent’s stealing the election. To make his claim believable Trump needs facts: Who’s voted illegally? Where? When? Trump needs to give specific examples of people voting illegally.
Hillary’s facing the other side of the same coin but her task is a bit different: She needs to confront Trump – to goad him, if you will – by asking questions. She might ask: Can you name one election, just one single election, that was lost because people voted illegally? Or she might ask: Six women have accused you of unwanted sexual advances – can you give a fact that shows even one of their stories is untrue?
The ‘Last Great Debate’ is going to be the last opportunity Donald Trump will have to look Hillary Clinton in the eye and prove he’d make a better President. Hyperbole, bluster, and political slogans won’t cut the mustard: Tonight Donald Trump (and Hillary Clinton too) needs to get down to the facts.