The First Presidential Debate: 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Monday night seemed as if it were a script for Comedy Central, except we couldn’t laugh because this was real. The two individuals on stage were the real candidates. Their answers were actually their own. If it were one of Jimmy Fallon’s satires, it would have been a home run for the show business, except this was not made up. Everything you and I watched the other night was the reality we are faced with. Clinton vs Trump; liar vs shark; ignorance vs ego.

There was no winner from the debate; they both lost…badly, but they didn’t lose as bad as the voters did. Millions of Americans tuned into this debate, many hoping to hear some solutions and see some leadership, but they were greatly disappointed. Both candidates had opportunities to show that leadership we so desperately desire, however neither capitalized on any of their chances. What bothered me the most, and what should trouble you, is that Trump and Clinton were more focused on themselves and each other than on the problems America is facing right now.

No one cares anymore that Trump questioned President Obama’s citizenship. The American people aren’t worrying about Bill Clinton’s sex scandals right now. We don’t give a crap about Trump’s company or the Clinton Foundation. Americans want to hear the issues; the important issues. We want to be told how we’re going to fix the economy, how we are going to deal with immigration, what we will do about foreign policy, and how we’re going to improve Medicare, education, and domestic relations. These two don’t seem to get that! The candidates for president of the United States don’t seem to understand that the American people want to hear about the issues, what they are and how they will be handled, and it’s a disgrace that these two spent more than an hour of our time arguing about foolishness.

The first twenty minutes was all that we got on true policy (when they were giving their views on taxes and the economy). That was the deepest into real issues Trump and Clinton dug Monday night, and even when they talked about policy they couldn’t refrain from the unimportant personal attacks and pointless rabbit trails.

Trump talked about himself so much that it started to get scary. Everyone knows he’s egotistic, but how much he bragged about his smarts and his good judgment in this debate was just ridiculous. Mr. Trump, voters don’t want to hear about your past accomplishments; they want to hear how you are going to help them and their country. When Donald wasn’t talking about Clinton, he was talking about himself. If he would’ve been facing any other democratic runner, it would have been a disaster, but he was facing Hillary Clinton.

The most surprising thing about the former secretary and first lady in this debate was that she lasted the entire night without collapsing and without one coughing fit. That’s actually incredible if you think about it. She should be awarded a medal for her unbelievable feat on Monday night. But like Trump, Hillary also didn’t touch on the major concerns of the people. She had no vision, or enthusiasm. Her main argument was, ‘vote for me because I’m not Trump.’ ‘Vote for me because Trump’s done this, or he’s said that.’ Mrs. Clinton, voters don’t need to hear how Mr. Trump ripped off an architect, or about how he offended a former Miss Universe. We the people need to hear the issues and your solutions to those issues but we didn’t.

The first debate most likely helped no one in their decision coming up in November. You can blame the moderator, the rule makers, and the media, but the only people who were responsible for this gaffe of a debate were the people on stage. There are still two more scheduled showdowns between Donald and Hillary, so let’s hope we actually get to hear some answers that we care about and not just rambling about accomplishments and personal attacks. Maybe Trump and Clinton will grow up over the next couple of weeks, but you probably shouldn’t bet on that.

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