The Pride and The Fall

As one of millions who are revolted by both candidates for president, I watched the first debate strictly for purposes of entertainment, as one would watch a demolition derby or a movie about the apocalypse.  The problem, of course, is that if this were a demolition derby, we would not be safely ensconced in the bleachers but would instead be in the car.

By any objective standard, Hillary cleaned Donald's clock.  She was more prepared, more measured, more self-assured, more informed, and more disciplined.  But we already knew that.  Hillary is the girl who stays up all night studying.  Donald is the boy who copies off someone else and then assures us that he has "a very good brain" and knows all "the best words".

But the most telling dynamic was psychological rather than rhetorical.  Hillary had a plan, she stuck to it, and it worked.  Trump winged it, and he used his wings not to fly, but to swat at invisible insects.  And in the course of doing so, he made an ass of himself (not to mix animal metaphors),

Every personal jab Mrs. Clinton sent his way was seized upon by Mr. Trump as a starving dog would seize upon a steak.  He couldn't let anything go.  He is clearly incapable of doing so.  On the biggest stage of his life, Trump navel-gazed.  And he did so, dare I say, bigly.

Trump spent so much time defending himself that he never raised his signature issue, illegal immigration.  He never brought up his opponent's biggest weaknesses: Benghazi, the Clinton Foundation, her entire public career, etc.

There was a question about cyber-security.  How did Trump not immediately pounce upon that while debating a women who cyberly-unsecured our entire diplomatic policy?

There was a point where Mrs. Clinton implied that all Americans have "inherent bias".  How did Trump not ask Mrs. Clinton whether she herself was "inherently biased" about the African-American debate moderator?
 
Because we have no good choice, it is clear that we need to settle for the more mature and disciplined individual.  The first debate left absolutely no doubt at all who that is.  These two people are deeply unappealing and corrupt in their own ways, but only one of them is capable of behaving like an adult who is cognizant of something larger than themselves. 

It may be damning with faint praise, but Mrs. Clinton must win this election by default.  Mr. Trump has played a valuable role and raised some important issues that establishment politicians would not, but he is so utterly unacceptable in terms of character and decorum that all of that virtue is swept away by his bottomless narssicism.

The good news is that whoever wins this election will probably due so with less than 50% of the popular vote.  He or she will be largely despised by half of the country and will probably not be able to implement most of their plans.  We're past due for a one-term president.  Let's just get this over with and then press reset.

All that aside, if I lived in a state where it mattered, I would purge myself, hold my nose, vote for Mrs. Clinton, and then purge myself again.  It is a sad truth that millions of people who vote for Mrs. Clinton next month will do so while suppressing a gag reflex, but it is, astonishingly, better than the alternative.