Presidential debate fails to sway undecided voters

There was no clear-cut winner in the Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump debate Sunday night, but there was one sure loser: the American people.

With the presidential election less than a month away, undecided voters who hoped to gain some insight into the candidacies of Democrat Clinton and Republican Trump were sorely disappointed.

Rather than hearing the presidential nominees articulate their positions on such important issues as the economy, health care and foreign policy, viewers were dragged through the political muck by heated exchanges about the infamous Trump video and all the lurid details about former President Bill Clinton’s womanizing.

To be sure, the moderators for the town hall-style debate opened the door to the tabloid-churning discussion when they asked Trump about an audio/video recording made 11 years ago in which he boasted about being a sexual predator. Trump, the New York City billionaire businessman, repeated the apology he delivered late Saturday night after the recording went viral.

Clinton, former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York, was asked to respond to Trump’s contention that he was simply indulging in “locker-room talk” with Billy Bush, at the time a host of the cable television show “Access Hollywood.” The Republican presidential nominee also said lewd comments do not reflect who he is today.

Clinton responded that the video does portray the real Donald Trump and is just another example of his attitude toward women.

That criticism from the Democratic presidential nominee triggered a verbal assault by Trump on both his opponent and her husband, the former president.

Indeed, Trump had invited three women who had accused Bill Clinton of past sexual misconduct to sit in the audience. He also had held a news conference with them.

That bitter verbal exchange set the tone for the rest of the evening, so that even when they were asked specific policy questions, such as what they would do about the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo or the troubled Affordable Care Act, the sniping continued.

While Trump clearly was the aggressor in the debate and attempted to intimidate Clinton by hovering over her while she stood and answered questions, she bears some responsibility for what occurred Sunday night.

Clinton, who had clearly won the first debate and was benefiting from Trump’s video crisis, should have steered clear of the issue when asked to react.

The Democrat could easily have said that she wasn’t going to comment and that the press and the American people were quite capable of drawing their own conclusions about Trump.

Had she taken such a position, her opponent would have been hard-pressed to dig up Bill Clinton’s own sordid history with women that is more than two decades old.

Equal rights

Indeed, Clinton could have used the opportunity to detail her 30 years of public service working on behalf of children, young women and women in general to ensure easily accessible, affordable health care, equal rights and to tear down barriers that have been an impediment to women’s progress in the workplace.

Instead, by taking a swipe at Trump over his attitude and behavior toward women, Clinton found herself the target of his verbal blasts.

Thus, as we said at the outset, the debate Sunday night was devoid of a quality exchange of ideas and positions that would enable undecided voters to get a clearer picture of the highly charged election.

The presidential nominees have one more chance to redeem themselves and to prove to the American people that the most important aspect of democracy – voting – will not be an exercise in futility this year.

The third and final debate is scheduled next Wednesday in Las Vegas. The moderator will be Chris Wallace, anchor of Fox News Sunday.

There is a lot at stake in this year’s presidential election, which is why we urge Clinton and Trump to take the high road.