The First Political Dog and Pony Show

September 27, 2016 at 2:45 pm

Last night, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took the stage for their first head-to-head “debate”.  Absent was Gary Johnson – evidently because the Commission on Presidential Debates believed an adult in the room was unnecessary. As expected, there was a lot of interrupting, speaking over one another and generally ignoring the existence of the moderator as he ineffectually attempted to keep the topics on track.  Clinton sounded well rehearsed and as such came off more polished.  What little policy she did articulate though was almost complete incorrect.  I found it to be no surprise that her most glaringly erroneous statements involved economic matters.  From her support for higher taxes on companies and the “rich” to an increased minimum wage, “debt-free” college, and paid family leave, she demonstrated either complete ignorance of economic forces or an unbelievable level of hubris that she could overcome such natural law by sheer government fiat. Trump started off the debate strongly, all things considered.  He stuck to his message that politicians were the problem… for the first 30 minutes or so.  Beyond that, he started taking every bit of bait Clinton put out for him.  At times, he ran off into the weeds, losing sight […]