By Tom McGregor, CNTV Panview Commentator
The Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump Debate was hosted by Hofstra University. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had won the debate on technical points and composure.
Nevertheless, Trump was at his best in the first 20 minutes, and considering the short attention span of many Americans, they probably nodded off for the rest of the debate.
The fireworks just fizzled out, due to sheer boredom. Of course, that had been when Hillary Clinton was shining. Despite her character flaws, she knows the minute details of government policy and had won the final hour of the debate, if not the first 20 minutes. Well, did she win over voters’ hearts?
NBC moderator throws lifeline to Hillary
Clinton could have defeated Trump in this debate without assistance. Nevertheless, NBC News anchorman Lester Holt thought otherwise and frequently interrupted Trump. Perhaps this has sexist connotations, inferring that a female candidate can not defeat Trump without help from a man.
Clinton's biggest advantage comes from her support with the mainstream media, but it looks like they had unwittingly handicapped her here, because it was not Trump's best night.
Trump had plenty of chances to discuss Clinton's scandals, such as her 33,000 deleted emails, allegations of Clinton Foundation fraud and her bungling in Benghazi. Yet, he failed to hammer her on them.
Clinton made mistakes too. She spoke with downright falsehoods, such as claiming Trump never paid his taxes, despite the IRS auditing him 15 times and no charges were filed against him.
TV Debate too long, but no opening and closing speeches
The TV debate also failed on other technicalities. It started 3-minutes late. The biggest flaw appeared to be a lack of organization. The candidates were not permitted to give opening and closing statements.
Hillary could have spoken about how Trump is too dangerous for the White House and Trump could explain why he would Make America great again.
In regard to other problems, Holt is to blame. The TV debate was expected to highlight three segments: Achieving Prosperity, America's Direction and America's Security. However, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had enjoyed going overtime on talking and they kept interrupting each other.
Online polls say Trump won, despite Hillary's strong performance
Even though Hillary Clinton was clearly the winner of the first debate, online polls say otherwise. Even media outlets supportive of the Democrat Party are posting poll results that show Trump won the debate, averaging about 60 percent in his favor.
Hillary looked smarter, but she conveyed arrogance and smugness, while her bold lies, including claims that she was involved with negotiations of TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), may have disturbed American voters. She looked more poised, but that appeared fake.
Trump raised a ruckus at times and frequently could not hide his anger, but viewers probably perceived it as sincerity, while voters are looking for a Change candidate. Trump's forceful temperament has proven to be a positive, not negative for today's voters.
Marching ahead to November elections
Hillary Clinton did win the debate, but she's falling behind in opinion polls. She now must work harder than ever before to win voters' support. She has to hit the campaign trail and give numerous speeches in the next few weeks, or it will be Game Over.
Tmcgregorchina@yahoo.com
WeChat ID: 86 13439758718
( The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com. )
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