In the third of the presidential debates Hillary Clinton put Republican rival, Donald Trump, to the test, or as many have said, gave him the taste of his own medicine, as she parried, thrust, and even skewered him on occasion, that not only made him seem petulant but showcased her command of the issues, that many have been clamoring for, and not the circus, that much of this presidential campaign has offered.
At times, Fox News moderator Chris Wallace had to intervene to get a word in edgewise, at one point noting, “I’m not a potted plant,” to the laughter of many. While his role was challenging, as that remark demonstrated, he gave more of an “old school” style of moderation, versus that of previous moderators.
Trump, for his part, repeated the, by now shop worn, tirade of “her emails,” the “country is in trouble, big, big trouble,” the Mexican mantra of that country sending rapists to our shores, and “we are going to be big again.”
Clinton wisely stuck to the facts again and again, citing her knowledge of the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and how many people it has helped, and how she would make it stronger; her knowledge of the cheap Chinese steel that has infiltrated the U.S. and that Trump used, even in the eponymous hotel, that he was staying in, and that she slyly made note of.
When she did talk about his manner - the brutality of his remarks against women, for example, she wisely frame them in the context of his personality, temperament and behavior. True prosecutor that she was, Clinton said,”So it's not one thing. This is a pattern, a pattern of divisiveness of a very dark and in many ways dangerous vision of our country where he incites violence, where he applauds people who are pushing and pulling and punching at his rallies. That is not who America is and I hope that as we move in the last weeks of this campaign, more and more people will understand what's at stake in this election. It really does come down to a kind of country we are going to have.”
She reached across the divide of abortion and discussed those women who were forced to make terrible choices, while sidestepping the controversial and medically inaccurate term of “partial birth” abortions, and said, “Donald has said he is in favor of defunding Planned Parenthood. He even supported shutting the government down to defund Planned Parenthood. I will defend Planned Parenthood. I will defend Roe v. Wade and I will defend women's rights to make their own healthcare decisions. We have come too far to have that turn back now and indeed he said women should be punished; that there should be some form of punishment for women who obtain abortions. And I could just not be more opposed to that kind of thinking.”
With this Clinton solidified both her base, and her record, and one that she has consistently favored in less than three minutes, showing a presidential style that Trump with his waverings, hyperbole and accusations could not, and did not make, that night, or any other time, say critics.
In her trademark flattened lawyerly tone, she said, “Because Roe v. Wade very clearly sets out that there can be regulations on abortion so long as the life and health of the mother are taken into account. And when I voted as a senator, I did not think that that was the case. The kinds of cases that fall at the end of pregnancy are often the most heartbreaking, painful decisions for families to make. I have met with women who, toward the end of their pregnancy, get the worst news one could get that their health is in jeopardy if they continue to carry to term or that something terrible has happened or just been discovered about the pregnancy. And, furthermore, “I do not think the United States government should be stepping in and making those most personal of decisions. So you can regulate if you are doing so with the life and health of the mother taken into account.”
During the volley of what could, or would have been done, about immigration, Clinton, pulled, to the shock and displeasure of Trump, “ that he even criticized Ronald Reagan, and in mock surprise, “even Ronald Reagan,” the conservative icon.
The night definitely was won by Clinton and her tactic paid off, by parodying him, and using his own style, made Trump seem almost whiny. And, as one Clinton supporter noted, “It’s almost a shame, because he’s not even a worthy adversary.”
The old political adage used to be that debates didn’t help a candidate much, and that voter minds were already made up. But this election is different, in both the scope and tenor, its ramifications have shaped the conversations, and the narrative; with both sides entrenched in what seems to be more vitriol than the 1801 contest between Adams and Jefferson.
Add to the Clinton trifecta the strong early voting patterns - 3.3 percent increase from 2012 - of many states, have shown strong leads in Arizona, North Carolina, and in a real outlier: Utah. But she has 270 electoral votes, by consideration, and that alone helps propel her closer to the Oval Office than many of her opponents might be willing to concede.
The biggest takeaway from Trump is that he would not say that he would accept the results of the election, a time honored tradition of modern presidential elections, a stance that Clinton was appalled by, and she noted,”That is not the way our democracy works," Clinton said. "We've been around for 240 years. We have had free and fair elections. We've accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them. And that is what is expected of anyone standing on a debate stage during a general election."
Continuing, she added: "He is denigrating -- he's talking down -- our democracy. And I for one, am appalled that somebody who is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position."
Now, Trump says that he will,only if he wins, still not far from the “rigged” charges that he has brought up, now forcing a reasonable person to believe that, once again, if he doesn't get elected, it’s the system's problem, and not his. As the lady said, if he doesn’t get his way, there will be trouble. The French have a term for this type of person, l’enfant terrible. And, for Donald Trump, it rings true
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