Presidential Debate: September 26, 2016

Arguably the most important debate in the history of the United States has just finished, and there sure was a lot of arguing done. The first of three debates between Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Nominee Donald Trump gave the candidates the opportunity to reintroduce themselves before America and the world to promote their candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.

Throughout the past few weeks, each candidate has taken time out of their schedule to prep for this debate. In Clinton's case this meant practicing with a Trump stand-in where she was able to solidify her responses into two minute answers as stated by the debate rules. For Trump, debate prep was less sophisticated than Clinton's. Rather than practice answers to likely questions, it seems that he spent more time answering questions in whatever way he felt was best. But which style of preparation ultimately won? That's hard to say.

From the responses I received after watching the debate with fellow students on campus, it appears as if Clinton presented herself as presidential while Trump didn't change from his usual self. Throughout the debate Clinton remained relatively calm whenever Trump interrupted her or tried to talk over her. Clinton seemed to know that using the tactics Trump is best known for, interrupting and name calling, would get her no support in the polls.

However, as some of my peers observed there were a few moments in the debate where they either agreed with Trump or saw why people might be drawn to his candidacy. Most notably when he compared the United States to a business and how he would focus on creating jobs in America rather than ship them overseas. While there are many flaws in his candidacy, it's clear that some Americans like the idea that Trump would use a business background to run the country rather than a more traditional political mindset.

Another stark difference between the two candidates is the number of facts each used when discussing their ideas and opinions on how to move this country forward. Clinton continually used as many facts about the economy and foreign affairs as she could which proved that she has taken the time to look over various briefing books and is familiar with what she is taking about. Trump in comparison used less facts and focused instead on words that generalize his stances on issues such as "bring jobs back" which is helpful in theory but barely describes plans he theoretically would implement.

So the first debate is over. What's next?

What will the second and third debates focus on that this one did not? Will either of the third party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein be on the debate stage with Clinton and Trump? Does it matter that they are or are not? Will the moderator of the next debate attempt to fact check the candidates to a higher degree than Lester Holt attempted to do tonight? Are polls going to change dramatically over the next few days or do Americans even care about what a candidate says during a debate? Does a candidate's two minute answer have the ability to change the mind of a voter or is the election already decided by the time September rolls around? The only way to find out the answer to any of these questions is to tune in for the next debate on Sunday October 9.

Day Three of the Democratic National Convention

"One Last Time"

President Barack Obama your eloquence is undeniable. You have served admirably during times of crisis and emerged a stronger leader, bringing the American people with you. Your speech tonight was even more powerful than Michelle's was on Monday and you drew in people from all corners of America to listen to your message. People are already writing your name into history books as one of the greatest presidents in the history of America and I'd have to say I agree. You gave the American people hope when they had little and battled challenges that most presidents could never dream of. Your endorsement of Hillary Clinton tonight further showed your belief in the American people to challenge the fear some put forth into this country and rise above that fear. To channel the energy of the Bernie Sanders supporters into political action at both the local and national levels to change what is problematic in this country. All that is left to say is simply thank you, Mr. President.

Day Two of the Democratic National Convention

"42"

Last night was former President Bill Clinton's time to shine. As the possible first First Man of the United States this speech set the tone for how he would be featured during the remainder of Hillary's campaign. He began the speech, rather unexpectedly, with the story of when he first met a girl. No, not that girl. His future wife Hillary Clinton. It was interesting to see such insight into their marriage when so many people only see this political power couple as two politicians and not as a family unit. Though some might deem this as one of Bill Clinton's less well received speeches due to his greatness as an orator, he still did a good job at promoting the more personal and caring side of Hillary Clinton.

As the second night of the convention drew to a close, singer Alicia Keys performed a montage of some of her most popular songs which ended in a video of Hillary Clinton. Beginning with a digital glass ceiling breaking after showing the previous 43 presidents, Clinton spoke of her excitement at being the first female nominee of a major political party in the United States saying that "while I may be the first, one of you girls will be the next." This video was a general thank you to the delegates and voters who helped her get this far as well a tease at what her speech on Thursday night might be when she addresses the convention in Philadelphia. 

"The Senator from Vermont"

A gentleman almost too good for his election, Senator Bernie Sanders ended his race for the presidency on Tuesday at the end of the roll call voting. After hearing the delegate votes from all of the states except Vermont, Sanders entered the arena and seemed to take a moment to himself as thousands of people chanted his name and showed their love for him. He then graciously nominated Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic Nominee for President which was agreed to by a vocal vote from the convention delegates. 

Mr. Sanders you entered the race essentially unknown and managed to gain over 12 million votes and raise over 200 million in campaign donations. You raised the level of political discourse in this country and motivated a new generation to dream of an America they can be proud of. Though I personally never got to see you when I traveled to New Hampshire earlier this year, I am glad to have been able to witness your candidacy and all that you have brought to this country to make it just that much better. Thank you for your ideas Mr. Sanders and thank you for the decades of service that you have given to this amazing country. 

Day One of the Democratic National Convention

"More Damn Emails"

Although this time the emails did not come from Hillary Clinton herself but were rather about her and her candidacy and sent by prominent members of the Democratic National Committee. Through the emails it was clear to see that Clinton was favored over Senator Bernie Sanders to be the next Democratic Nominee for President. In response, Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned in relative shame which got the convention in Philadelphia off to a similar start as the Republican's Convention last week in Cleveland. The similarities between these conventions' first day ends after this however. Whereas the Republicans had poor time management for their prime time speakers resulting in an empty convention hall and a speech with major hints of plagiarism the speakers for the Democratic Convention were poised and brimming with party unity.  

"Michelle Obama"

I once wrote a report about the speech Hillary Clinton gave as First Lady to the United Nations Fourth World Conference in Beijing on "women's rights being human rights and human rights being women's rights." I believe this to be one of the most popular speeches any First Lady has ever given. First Lady Michelle Obama's speech tops that. While her husband, President Barack Obama, is well known for his great oratory capabilities, Michelle's skills tend to be swept under the rug simply because First Ladies do not have the same hold on the news cycle as the President of the United States does. However, the emotion that Mrs. Obama packed into her speech as well as the unity she promoted for the party and its delegates between the Hillary and Bernie supporters was simply astounding. It seemed as if everyone in the convention hall and everyone watching from their homes was amazed by the First Lady and wondered afterwards if she would ever think of running for elected office someday. Not only did Mrs. Obama endorse Hillary, but she painted a picture of how her family's life has played out in the most public of houses for the last eight years. If you haven't already seen this speech or would simply like to watch it again as I myself will be doing soon, check out this link here.

"Bernie Sanders"

After only one night of the Democratic National Convention it is hard to know if what Bernie told his supporters will truly sink in and create the party unity that the leaders of the party are hoping for. A few hours before Bernie even spoke the tension was thick in the room when comedian and outspoken Bernie supporter Sarah Silverman told the 'Bernie or Bust' supporters that "they were being ridiculous" as they continued to chant for Bernie against their fellow Democrats and Clinton supporters. As the keynote speaker of the night, Bernie thanked his supporters for all of their help over the past year. Even getting a communal shout of "27 dollars" in reference to the average donation his campaign received from the 99% throughout the past year. A rousing speech that ended with him saying that he stands with her does not seem to have gotten through to all of his supporters however. During MSNBC's post convention coverage, three separate Bernie supporters voiced their concerns for Clinton as the nominee saying that they still could not trust her even as their most trusted candidate, Bernie, says that he trusts her. As the convention proceeds over the next few days this will become the main goal of the Clinton campaign: to move those Bernie supporters to vote for her rather than Trump or one of the third party candidates. Will anything Bernie says to his supporters be able to convince them to vote for Clinton? Or will the magic words have to come from Clinton herself? Only the next few nights of the convention will tell. 

Day Three of the Republican National Convention

To quote Chuck Todd "This convention is a mess." 

Senator Ted Cruz carefully neglected to endorse Donald Trump during his speech at this night's convention effectively taking the momentum out of Vice Presidential Nominee Mike Pence's speech which occurred later on in the night. It was a bold move for Senator Cruz to do so so late in the game when all of the other Republican Primary candidates had already committed to endorsing whichever candidate was eventually chosen by their party. In essence, Cruz stuck to his classic filibuster style and boycotted what he disapproved of. Will this hurt the Trump campaign? Well if we look back in history to nights one and two of this convention, it seems as if these speakers can and will say anything and get away with very little damage done to their own public image or the image of Trump and his campaign. However, the bigger question seems to be 'why did the Trump campaign let Cruz speak for so long if they knew how long he was going to speak for as well as the fact that he would not be directly endorsing Trump anywhere in the speech?' Does this mean Cruz really does not believe that Trump should be the next President of the United States? Or is Cruz simply trying to set up his candidacy in 2020?

Meanwhile Governor Chris Christie's speech from the second night of the convention gained steam during the news cycle on Wednesday for his strong critique of everything Hillary Clinton handled during her tenure as Secretary of State. Some have been saying that this was his audition to be Trump's pick for Attorney General or even a potential nomination to the Supreme Court for Antonin Scalia's absent seat. The 30 second clip that has been circulating from Christie's speech is most notably when he asked the audience on the convention floor if Hillary was "Guilty or Not Guilty?" To which the audience began to chant back "Lock her up! Lock her up!" This clip and many more from Mike Pence's first national speech as the Vice Presidential Nominee will obviously make their rounds on the upcoming news cycles, but rather than go into more detail on those slightly more serious issues let's take a look at this...

Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che did a special edition of Weekend Update tonight with the only and only Notorious RBG: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! If you didn't stay up until 12:00 EST check back in a few hours where I will try to put up a link to this hilarious clip. Plus, stay tuned for next week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia when they will produce a second special edition of Weekend Update! 

Day Two of the Republican National Convention

"Plagiarism"

Did she or didn't she? Did Melania Trump plagiarize a significant portion of Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention? Reports early this morning which analyzed Mrs. Trump's speech from last night noticed the striking resemblance between her speech during the first night of the Republican Convention and the speech Michelle Obama gave which helped nominate her husband. (If you somehow didn't hear about this story today check out this article which clearly explains what happened). But more importantly, will this blunder matter to the Trump campaign? Does this hurt Trump's image in a way that he will not be able to simply brush off as he has done with so many other instances in this political cycle? If the Trumps eventually end up in the White House next January will this and other unfortunate speeches hurt Melania as a First Lady and make her seem less credible than First Ladies of the past? It seems as if this oversight was just that. A poorly planned speech that was not looked over by professional speech makers and was therefore analyzed by the press for the mistakes woven in it.

"Hillary Clinton"

If you thought that the Republicans would go easy on Clinton during this convention you must be living in a fantasyland. It appears as if each speaker in some way tried to increase her negative ratings in any way they could. From Donald Trump Jr.'s speech alone, he tore into the Benghazi scandal pointing out the irony of Clinton's 2008 "3 AM" campaign ad and the fact that she did not answer that most important call. Watching post convention coverage on MSNBC tonight Rachel Maddow and Brian Williams reported that the most used words were "Hillary," "Clinton," "America," "Trump," and "Donald" during tonight's Republican convention.  Of course next week during the Democratic Convention, the Democrats will surely tear into Trump in the same way. But what does it say of our political system where the most effective campaign strategy comes in the form of driving up the negative ratings of the opposite candidate? What happened to a convention where speeches were driven by a party platform that made policy proposals about how to make our country an even better place to live? Call me crazy but I believe that the average American does care about a variety of policies that affect their everyday life from education reform to healthcare to homeland security and that they are waiting for a politician to truly listen to these feelings instead of harping on the failures of others. 

Day One of the Republican National Convention

"Make America Safe Again"

Just one of the themes from the first night of the Republican National Convention. At the start of the prime time broadcast Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York, gave one of the most uplifting speeches of the night praising Donald Trump and his efforts to make America safer than it has been in the last few months. Giuliani said that "Donald Trump will do for America what I did for New York City," referencing the work Giuliani put in as mayor to make New York City America's safest large city. 

According to the NBC broadcasters Giuliani's speech is the first of the night to truly praise Trump and the work that he intends to put in as president to "Make America Great Again." This is an important note to make especially as many former Republican nominees and prominent members of the Republican party have decided not to attend the convention in Cleveland in protest of Trump's nomination. It has been mentioned that former Republican Nominee Bob Dole is the only former nominee to attend. Neither previous presidential Republican Nominees John McCain and Mitt Romney, nor presidents George Bush and George W. Bush are planning to attend the convention. As an outside observer of the Republican Party, what does it say when the most prominent and successful members of your party do not want to attend your party convention to nominate the next leader of your party? And if these members do not want to attend, what if anything could Trump do to convert these leaders to Trump supporters?

"Hillary Clinton Cannot Be Our Next President"

Honestly, this was expected. This week is the Republican's chance to condemn all of Hillary Clinton's actions as a candidate and as the former Secretary of State. If you thought that they might devote more time to focus on proposing policies to fix the problems in our country you thought wrong. (But the Democrats will do the exact same thing next week during their convention so it will all be balanced in the political world.) 

"Melania Trump"

To quote my mom "I guess she's the only immigrant he likes." Oh the irony. But aside from that fact, I personally had doubts about how Mrs. Trump's speech would go tonight. Would her speech become a series of hilarious clips and memes or would there be some substance in what she had to say? After delivering a short series of facts about her own life, Melania began to praise her husband's love and kindness as a father, his experience and success as a businessman, his dedication to promoting veterans, and his "big thinking" which will help America progress as a nation. Melania also praised the volunteers and supporters of the Trump campaign stating that "You have turned this campaign into a movement that has begun to grow in strength and in number." She even foreshadowed what her role as First Lady might look like with a focus on helping women and children. A rather unexpected speech by the next possible first lady was rather warmly welcomed and exceeded my personal expectations. It seems likely that the world will see more from Melania Trump as the general election draws closer in order to improve Trump's polling numbers among women as well as showcase his support for immigrants when they enter this country legally.

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So, what's next? As the week progresses there will surely be more rousing speeches about the great president Donald Trump would be leading up to his acceptance speech on Thursday night of the convention. But who will these speeches come from? Obviously Trump's Vice Presidential pick Governor Mike Pence will speak but will we hear from former Governor Sarah Palin or former Republican Nominee Bob Dole? Will any of the prominent Republicans not attending the convention make any statements trying to divide their party? Ohio's own Governor John Kasich is not attending the convention on the basis that Donald Trump is not one who unifies and that Kasich does not support someone who would try to divide people rather than unite them. And how will Hillary Clinton and her campaign respond to this week's convention both in the media and during their campaign next week? Tune in tomorrow to find out more from Day Two of the Republican National Convention.