Discussions on the first Trump-Hillary debate

Joseph Farah on Trump performance: 'This is not what I wanted to see' . . . "On top of that, she should be in prison. She should have been indicted for violations of espionage and national security laws. The only reason she wasn’t is because of her place of dishonor in the political establishment. Her shield against prosecution was the fact that she was the leading Democrat seeking the presidency. She used her office as secretary of state to shake down foreigners and corporations for contributions to the Clinton Foundation." . . . 

"And how on earth did Trump allow himself to spend most of the night on defense?"

Michael Moore said "Donald Trump “won” and “we all lost.' ”  What?

Under "What debate is he talking about?:

ANALYSIS: On Second Thought, Yeah The Debate Was Kind Of Rigged — But That Actually Helps Trump [VIDEO]
"Here are the four perceived-hit questions Holt asked of Trump:" . . .

From John Hinderaker: For those who didn’t watch my live commentary on tonight’s debate–that would be most of you!–here are my thoughts.  . . . "Those who think America is in decline, our political class is corrupt and incompetent, and we need a change will not be motivated to vote for Mrs. Clinton. On the contrary, however inept he may have been at times, Trump did make it clear that he is the voice for change in the race. That may be a lot more important than “winning.' ”

Obama loyalists say Donald Trump showed racism, did worse than Sarah Palin in debate

Debate grades: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump pass, Lester Holt fails
"Mr. Holt was anything but moderate. Mr. Trump got the most pointed questions all night, on racist stop-and-frisk, birtherism, his tax returns, Mrs. Clinton’s “stamina” and being the first woman president. Mrs. Clinton’s email server? Not so much. FBI investigation? Nada. Pay for play allegations with the Clinton Foundation? Not worth it. Nearly all ofMr. Holt’s follow-up questions were directed at Mr. Trump, not Mrs. Clinton. Most of his interruptions were of Mr. Trump. Lesson learned? Going after the referees paid off. Mrs. Clinton’s team signaled they wanted a “fact-checked” debate that would pound Mr. Trump, and they got it."

Why Trump decided not to bring up Monica Lewinsky at debate  “ 'I didn’t feel comfortable doing it with Chelsea in the room. I think Chelsea is a fine young lady,' ”  There's Hillary's human shield from now on.

NY Post debates itself:  How Trump won over a bar full of undecideds and Democrats
John Podhoretz: Trump’s debate incompetence a slap in the face to his supporters

USA Today: Trump pulled off presidential  . . . "Donald Trump did not self-destruct, he did not make foolish statements (whether you agree with him or not), he gave as well as he got. And despite Clinton’s numerous mocking remarks to the contrary, he came off as presidential. And that’s a fact."

What worked for Trump in the primaries failed him against Clinton

From Israel: The Great Debate of 2016 – Hillary the slugger, Trump the gentleman   . . . "But he may have won on personality. He was never smug or condescending. She was. It was obvious that each came out with a different plan; his was to be the gentleman, hers was to go after him by use of mockery. So she brought up his several failures in business and his failure to produce his tax returns.

"She also scored on the birther business and some real estate controversy going back to 1972, which proved that she and her team had done their homework.

"Trump, it seemed, was winging it, and in so doing, to this voter he seemed more genuine and more likeable. He also seemed unwilling to tangle and rumble."
Better the first debate than the last. Does anybody recall Obama sleeping through his second debate with Romney?

Coached by Joe Biden?

Blue Bloods Gives New Perspective to Police Shootings

MRC  "The series opener of CBS’s police drama, Blue Bloods, gave a perspective on officer-involved shootings often overlooked in the current media climate: the police officer’s. The episode, “The Greater Good,” opens with the District Attorney Robert Lewis (Michael Imperioli) reopening an investigation into Danny Reagan’s (Donnie Wahlberg) shooting of an unarmed serial killer. The serial killer’s family has released new evidence in the form of phone recordings, and Lewis is chomping at the bit to assemble a new grand jury." . . .

"After every police shooting, Monday morning quarterbacks are quick to hyper-analyze every moment. While proper investigations should be allowed to proceed, and wayward police officers must be held accountable for their actions, what’s often lost in the aftermath is the tense nature of the shooting and the split-second decisions officers are required to make. There is no pause button for real life, no instant replay. Officers must trust their instincts."

"The answer, clearly, was yes as we later learn the grand jury has chosen not to indict.  Meanwhile, as Danny Reagan is testifying about his shooting, series lead and Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is struggling with his own dilemma. The mother of a young academy trainee whose father was killed in the line of duty is desperate to have Frank fail her only son and keep him from following in his father’s footsteps.

“ 'Nobody likes cops anymore,” she explains before leaving, furious that Frank won’t stop her son from becoming a police officer and convinced his decision has signed her son’s death warrant. The scene is an emotionally charged reminder that police put their lives on the line every day, and they don’t always come home at night." . . .

La, la, la, I can't hear you!

Washington Times

Consensus is that Hillary won the night

UK Daily Mail  Read more at the link.

Analysis: Trump Opens Strong, Then Takes the Bait and Blows Opportunities   . . . "Various quasi-scientific "flash" polls (distinct from unscientific online polls) show a Clinton win of varying degrees, with a CNN focus group of undecided voters in Florida also breaking hard for her.  Video of Luntz's CBS focus group is HERE.  Also, Team Trump's spin doesn't seem terribly enthusiastic."

Mika Despondent Over Debate: Hillary ‘Amazing’ But Trump Will Win More Voters  . . . " Hillary was obviously the more prepared, but on a gut level Trump connected with many Americans. He also avoided two major pitfalls: he never got too nasty with Hillary, and though he’s obviously not as knowledgeable on the details, he never got caught out on any embarrassing factual mistake." . . .

NRO: If This Night Doesn’t Save Hillary’s Campaign, Nothing Will

. . . "Trump started better than he finished; he may be in better shape if the audience size declined over the course of the night. But on issue after issue, it was one missed opportunity after another." . . .

The Next Debate Cannot Come Soon Enough 

. . ."He needs to do better next time and he needs to mount some lethal ads that expose Hillary for who she is; a nasty piece of work who will intentionally take this country further down the road to Marxist socialism than Obama already has. Not only will she sell us out to the highest bidder, she will be sure to make money on the deal. Trump is the good guy; she is a future nightmare if elected. If she becomes President, the United States will be unrecognizable as the country founded in 1789 by a group of brilliant, selfless men who debated for thirteen years and wrote the finest document ever written."

Debate: Trump did well, despite a big obstacle  . . . "Overall, Trump did well, but every Republican candidate has to debate the Democratic candidate and the moderator." 

IRS: Obama’s Potent Weapon in War Against Dissent

Legal Insurrection

"I recently noted that President Obama’s climate change edict for our national security strategists shows that he does not take warfare against American opponents seriously.

"However, the President takes citizen opposition very seriously. For example, he is unleashing one of his most potent tools against Americans opting out of purchasing Obamacare.

"Over 20 million Americans opted to pay a penalty rather that purchase health insurance. So, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has just sent them a formal letter suggesting they make a different choice." . . .

Remember this when watching the debate; sear it into your memory.

Lectured-to by Hillary about Islam

“ 'Muslims have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.' ”

"Remember that line when you vote on November 8th."

Americans Don’t Buy Snowden the Hero

Max Boot

"If President Obama were to pardon Snowden on his way out of office, as so many on the left want, he will be doing great harm to his legacy and, even more important, to the ability of the U.S. intelligence community to keep us safe." 

. . . "More information on the damage that Snowden did is readily available in open-source reporting, which makes clear that much of what Snowden revealed had nothing to do with protecting the privacy of American citizens. As Jack Goldsmith, former assistant attorney general, noted: “To take just a few of hundreds of examples, why did his oath to the Constitution justify disclosure that NSA had developed MonsterMind, a program to respond to cyber attacks automatically; or that it had set up data centers in China to insert malware into Chinese computers and had penetrated Huawei in China; or that it was spying (with details about how) in many other foreign nations, on Bin Laden associate Hassam Ghul’s wife, on the UN Secretary General, or on the Islamic State; or that it cooperates with intelligence services in Sweden and Norway to spy on Russia; and so on, and so on.' ” . . .

Walmart refuses to make cop’s retirement cake because of racism — but it gets worse

Joe Newby

"On Monday, Twitchy reported that Walmart employees in McDonough, Georgia, refused to make a cop’s retirement cake because of racism, citing a report by Fox News’ Todd Starnes.

"According to Starnes:

Three Walmart workers in McDonough, Ga., refused to decorate a “thin blue line” cake for a police officer’s retirement party because they said it was racist.

A number of my Georgia readers alerted me to the story and on Saturday night I spoke directly with the police officer’s daughter. She asked that I not divulge her name and I’ve agreed to do that.

“I was so shocked,” she told me. “I didn’t know what to do or say or anything. I was trying not to lose my temper or make a scene.”

"Starnes said that Walmart “confessed that most of her allegations are true.”

“ 'Our goal is to always take care of customers. But, sometimes we misstep. We’re glad we were able to connect with the family to apologize and make this right,” Walmart said." . . .

Speaking of cakes, remember this?

Oregon: They Lost Their Bakery, Now Face Bankruptcy: Government’s ‘Discrimination’ Fine Brings Baker to Tears

Indiana: Bakery That Ignited Controversy With Refusal to Bake Gay Wedding Cake Closes Up Shop: ‘We Were Just Trying to Be Right With Our God’

Choice A to run our country

Hillary staffer left classified document in Russian hotel room 

. . . "Not only that, Clinton and her aide violated security protocols by not taking the briefing book to store it in a secure facility when not in her physical possession.  According to the FBI" . . .

‘Clueless’ Clinton Spent Six Years on the Senate Armed Services Committee  . . . "Given this experience and her involvement in making and overseeing U.S. military policy, it defies all belief — as Clinton claimed to the FBI — that she knew nothing . . . nothing about classified documents, how they were marked, or even that she should clam up about human intelligence agents." . . .

Is It Possible Hillary Really Didn't Know What 'C' Meant?  "Dinesh D'Souza says that when you work for the government, you're trained on what the document designations mean. He says Hillary wouldn't not know what "C" meant. Is Hillary Clinton the most lawbreaking and corrupt person ever to run for president?" . . . Video

Thoughts on tonight's debate

Tony Branco

Byron York: Before debate, Clinton works refs, asks for special treatment   . . . "Well, I think Donald Trump's special," Mook said. "We haven't seen anything like this…So we're saying this is a special circumstance, a special debate, and Hillary should be given some time to actually talk about what she wants to do to make a difference in people's lives. She shouldn't have to spend the whole debate correcting the record."

"Other Clinton officials made a similar case in the days leading up to the debate. On Friday, Team Clinton held a conference call for reporters, urging Holt to factcheck Trump on the fly. "This is the role of the moderator…to call out those lies, and do it in real time," top campaign official Jennifer Palmieri said. "To not do that is to give Donald Trump a very unfair advantage.' " . . .

Rick Moran: Clinton wants debate moderator to 'fact-check' the candidates  . . . " 'Fact-checking" is a losing issue for Clinton.  If Holt weighs in, it will only help Trump."

The Battle for the Undecided Millennial Generation Begins at Hofstra  . . . "The wild card for this debate may involve the FBI 2000-page document dump on Friday afternoon." . . .

Debate Details Revealed: Clinton Gets First Question . . . "The 90-minute debate will be broken into six, 15 minute "pods," the Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Sunday." . . .


Nine things you need to know about tonight's debate  . . .  "The public decided on Hillary years ago, and while I struggle to understand her attraction, she has her ardent supporters. Divide the country in three and you have Always Hillary, Never Hillary, and those who say they wish they had someone else but will settle for her.

"That third group is Trump's to win." . . 
. . . 
Pre-Debate: Trump needs to convince people he’s not Hitler, Hillary needs to show she’s not Hillary  "If I see one more story about what Trump/Hillary needs to do tonight, I’m going to ….

"So really, what do Trump and Hillary need to do tonight?"

Exclusive: DNC Accepts Donation In Memory Of Julius And Ethel Rosenberg

"Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who spied for the Soviet Union and were tried, convicted, and executed for conspiracy to commit espionage. They were instrumental in the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, speeding his development of Soviet nuclear weapons programs."

Weasel Zippers photo

Daily Caller  "The Democratic National Committee last week cashed a check for $28.13 made in memory of convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

"Speculation is not journalism but it’s hard to figure out which of these likely scenarios are more troubling: The DNC does not bother to do due diligence on donors. For all we know somebody from CAIR donated in honor of Bobby Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan.

"Or ISIS members could be donating so they could get invited to exclusive fundraisers. Maybe foreigners are illegally donating to gain influence with Hillary Clinton after the election since Clinton Foundation payola schemes are probably harder to pull off in light of all the negative publicity.

"The other possibility is that somebody did check and really didn’t care that the Rosenbergs were convicted of treason and executed in 1953."

"After all, Democratic Party acting chair Donna Brazile and Hillary campaign chair John Podesta have both refused to disavow the Democratic nominee’s endorsement by the Communist Party USA, which was a Soviet spy apparatus.

"Of course, if asked, Podesta, who initially purposed to not have heard of the Communist Party when asked about the endorsement, may very well feign ignorance of the Rosenbergs as well."

The racism of the anti-racists

"So unjust were those systems that a measure of over-reaction was inevitable. If a dose of political correctness is the price we pay for the end of Jim Crow and the overthrow of South Africa's race laws, I'd say it's worth paying."

Dan Hannan

"Here's a shocking story. A student, active in white racial politics, gets cross because he sees a black student filming him. He knocks the smartphone out of the black student's hand and then posts on Facebook: "I wish I'd actually not been a good law abiding citizen & whupped the black sass out of the bastard".

"The same student had earlier boasted of reducing a waitress to "black tears" after refusing to tip her. Yet, curiously, he has a following in the media and even in politics.. . . 

"Actually, I just played a little trick on you. I swapped the colors. The student in question is Ntokozo Qwabe, whom I wrote about in this column a while back as the chap who wanted to tear down a statue of Cecil Rhodes in Oxford." . . .

. . . "Oddly, the people most obsessed with making everything racial often call themselves anti-racists. This is because anti-racism has become the highest card in the leftist deck." . . .