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The Arizona Republic Is Right about Clinton-Trump Last Debate

The Arizona Republic Is Right about Clinton-Trump Last Debate

Last updated on: October 20, 2016 at 10:13 am by Kermit Zarley

The Arizona Republic Is Right about Clinton-Trump Last Debate 2016-10-20T10:13:26-07:00 Kermit Zarley

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I live in Arizona. I read The Arizona Republic newspaper every day. This state is extremely conservative politically. I thought Texas was conservative; that’s where I lived for nearly forty years. It’s not even close. Don’t forget, Arizona is Barry Goldwater country.

The third and final televised debate for the U.S. presidency was held last night between Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. After Clinton and Trump were neck-and-neck for much of the year, Clinton lately has pulled ahead substantially in the polls. Some of them are now showing her with a double-digit lead with only eighteen days left before Election Day on November 8th. The facial expressions of the two candidates clearly revealed that the scowl-looking Donald Trump knew he was going to lose this election, and the smiling Clinton knew she was going to win it. I thought it was quite a contrast.

I have blogged about how so many leading newspapers have endorsed Clinton, and none of them have endorsed Trump. Consequently, the past few days Trump has been alleging that the electorate has been poisoned against him by the “liberal media.” And in recent days he has further alleged that our electoral process is corrupted due to election officials cheating. He has been saying repeatedly that “the election is rigged.”

Last night in the debate, Donald Trump proved more than ever that he is unfit to be president. When moderator Chris Wallace asked him if he would accept the election results, Trump said he would have to wait and look at the results after the election to answer that question. All past presidential candidates have accepted our electoral process. This Trump refusal last night is his most glaring denial of the democratic foundation of the USA. It was the final act of a candidate who is such a bad loser.

The editorial board of The Arizona Republic has endorsed a Republican candidate for U.S. president every four years for something like the past 100 years until this year. It’s not so much that they favor Hilary Clinton for president, which they do. It’s almost entirely because they think Donald Trump is so unfit to be U.S. president that it is pitiful he ever became the Republican nominee. I couldn’t agree more or with all of their following editorial entitled “Clinton brings facts; Trump brings bluster,” in today’s issue of The Arizona Republic:

For the first time in presidential debates, Hilary Clinton the litigator arrived crisp and sharp, meeting Donald Trump’s generalities with steel-point facts.

He was not match for the lady in white. Not on Wednesday night.

His answers were heavy on sarcasm and light on substance, more befitting the bluster of a high-school sophomore than a man seeking America’s highest office.

But it was his refusal to say he would accept the outcome of the election that demonstrated his utter lack of fitness for the presidency.

That is an affront to this nations’ enviable history of the peaceful transfer of power. It demonstrates a profound selfishness and lack of respect for voters and the voting process, which is controlled in many states by Republicans.

Trump is challenging our democratic system from the platform of one of the major parties. This is a deeply irresponsible and a flaring example of his disrespect for our system of government–and for the Republican Party he has hijacked.

Clinton had a ready answer to his corrosive effort cast doubt on the integrity of an election he apparently thinks he won’t win. She listed a series of failures–including his failure to win an Emmy–that Trump attributed to a “rigged” system.

Being a sore loser is not a presidential quality.

This final debate was Trump’s best chance to “be so presidential you people will get bored,” which he promised to do last spring.

In fact, he was more restrained. But his references to Clinton as a “nasty woman” and a “liar” who should not be allowed to run for the presidency showed his disturbing void of civility.

Imagine unleashing this kind of name calling from the Oval Office. This man’s emotional immaturity would be a disaster when cloaked with the most awesome power on earth.

When Clinton quoted Sen. Bernie Sanders saying Trump is the most dangerous person to run for the presidency in modern memory, it was a simple statement of fact. When she expressed concern about Trump having control of our nuclear arsenal, it reflected a legitimate fear.

Trump showed once again he lacks the temperament, judgment or knowledge necessary to be the leader of the free world.

Or the sincerity.

His claim that “Nobody has more respect for women than me,” could not have been more absurd had it be spoken by Jack the Ripper.

Trump has done nothing to effectively respond to the 2005 video recording of him bragging in vulgar terms about being a sexual predator. He callously dismissed women who stepped forward to speak out about how he treated them.

There is finally a growing awareness that Trump is not what this nation needs.

. . . . . . . .

Among those undecided voters, there are no doubt many Republicans who find Trump loathsome, but have a very hard time supporting Clinton.

Sitting out this election is not an option for any American who cares about the future of this country.

There are two choices.

This debate made clear there is only one qualified candidate.

Clinton delivered a controlled, composed performance that showed a command of the issues that face our nation. She won the debate on style and substance, just as she was the clear winner of both previous debates.

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Third Clinton-Trump Debate

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