The Third Debate

[CathyA]

This has been my far-fetched idea all along - a huge, pre-orchestrated spectacle to hypnotize/distract the masses so the machine can carry on.

It's hard to believe that Trump could be in it for any reasonable reasons.......but also to just DO it for "fun".

I really do think the reason he's done so well (if you can call it that), is it should tell us how many people in this country are short-sighted and obnoxious and rude. Trump is a narcissistic bully and his obnoxious/uninformed/make-reality-up-as-you-go behavior has given lots of obnoxious people the green light to continue to act that way. I'm ashamed that politics have gotten to this.

I think Hillary will win by a larger margin than expected. I'm hoping that the quiet/sensible people will show up at the polls.
I honestly think Trump is a mental case. The psyche classes in colleges should use him as a case study in personality disorder, among other likely diagnoses.

[Teacher Terry]

Cathy: I agree 100%.

[LDAHL]

I really do think the reason he's done so well (if you can call it that), is it should tell us how many people in this country are short-sighted and obnoxious and rude.

I think a lot of the dark energy pushing the Trump phenomenon along comes from statements like the above. For better or (mostly) worse, he speaks to a segment of the country that feels neglected and insulted by a political class that dismisses them as deplorable bitter clingers. I don't think they care much about his character. They see him as a way of hitting back against the people who look down on them.

[chauddog]

For better or (mostly) worse, he speaks to a segment of the country that feels neglected and insulted by a political class that dismisses them as deplorable bitter clingers. I don't think they care much about his character. They see him as a way of hitting back against the people who look down on them.

Well said. Although I find him "deplorable," we actually have a fair number of Trump supporters in the rural communities near me. I find it hard to believe that some people I know support him. Kind of like Bernie supporters, they want to shake up the system even if it means throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They have told me they are just so fed up with political correctness and taxes that they are willing to overlook his shortcomings in hopes that it initiates revolutionary change in our government and the Republican Party. I think he is a total narcissistic bully who is totally unqualified and dangerous but I can understand to a degree their frustration. Hillary Clinton is not my favorite candidate but she is 1000x better than Trump.

[catherine]

I fell asleep during the last debate, but the pundits all caught me up the next day.

I agree with much of what was said here..

A lot of the rhetoric makes it sound like folks who want to dump the entire US into a car and take the "Thelma and Louise" option, because they feel they have nothing to lose.

That's true--my DH is one of the "silent majority" UA mentions--he's going to the polls to vote for Trump. He's had it. For that reason, and for the reasons cited above--all of Trump's outlandish rhetoric only serve to fuel the fire, while the rest of us stand there with our mouths gaping open

This has been my far-fetched idea all along - a huge, pre-orchestrated spectacle to hypnotize/distract the masses so the machine can carry on

It's an interesting theory! My theory is somewhat similar: I truly don't think Trump wants to be president. Sure there's probably that part of his ego that pictures himself replacing the chair in the Oval Office with a throne*, but IRL, I bet he NEVER expected to get this far, and has surprised himself along with the rest of us.

Now he's thinking, "oh, sh*t! I may actually have to move from my cushy life in the penthouse at Trump Towers and have my life dictated to by a bunch of political a$$es."

I bet he's PRAYING he loses.


*Yikes, what if he and Melania redecorate the White House?? What will THAT look like? And will he build a tunnel to his new hotel on Pennsylvania Ave?? Or will we be able to get a bundled ticket: tour of the White House half price with lodging at his hotel?

[gimmethesimplelife]

I'm breathing easier now that it's looking more and more like a Hillary win. This may surprise some here due to the level of how tenacious and opiniated I can be but I have stayed out of politics lately and have taken that energy and poured it into my marriage which is probably a better place for it given the candidates this year. At this point about Trump....stick a fork in me, I'm done discussing him. As to Hillary, all I will say is that she came across as very regal to me (overall) in the last debate and I was glad to see that. Rob

[JaneV2.0]

It seems to me there are a sizable number of people who will vote for Trump because the idea of any president other than a white male is anathema. They may couch their decision otherwise, but that's their dirty little secret.

[Alan]

It seems to me there are a sizable number of people who will vote for Trump because the idea of any president other than a white male is anathema. They may couch their decision otherwise, but that's their dirty little secret.

I disagree, as a rule, conservatives pay little attention to race and gender.

[catherine]

I disagree, as a rule, conservatives pay little attention to race and gender.

Not so sure about that, Alan. I think a lot of white males (including my own DH) hate Hillary because she's perceived by males to be a b****, or as as Donald would say, a "nasty woman." I'm not even a great lover of Hillary, but I think that she deserves more respect for exhibiting "male" qualities of strength and intelligence.

Some of my DDs friends have posted some really great Facebook "nasty woman" memes.

[Alan]

Not so sure about that, Alan. I think a lot of white males (including my own DH) hate Hillary because she's perceived by males to be a b****, or as as Donald would say, a "nasty woman." I'm not even a great lover of Hillary, but I think that she deserves more respect for exhibiting "male" qualities of strength and intelligence.

Some of my DDs friends have posted some really great Facebook "nasty woman" memes.

Perhaps you're placing more emphasis on the "woman" than the "nasty". It seems to me that in both your examples, you could focus on the actions behind the terms or the terms themselves, and conservatives are much more likely to focus on the former.