The first joint forum of the general election, less than 20 days before the first debate is scheduled, previewed the sharp messaging both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump plan to employ for the rest of their campaigns. They couldn’t help but making arguments about their opponents -- but their own individual weaknesses were on stark display.
The forum also underscored an oft-overlooked point: Clinton and Trump defy convention labels around foreign policy, especially as they traditionally attach to their respective parties, to an unusual degree. Who’s the hawk? Who’s the dove? That’s not a judgment that can be made based on their policies, or their demeanors. This campaign is about them –- as people –- far more than it is about their convictions.
Here are five things Wednesday night’s "Commander-in-Chief" forum, hosted by NBC News, told us about the coming debates:
It’s clear from the tone of the questions and attacks Wednesday night that attention will center on Hillary Clinton’s record and decisions in public life and, for Donald Trump, on temperament and judgment.
That means more scrutiny on Clinton’s support for the Iraq war and on Benghazi, particularly after Clinton said the U.S. "didn’t lose a single person" in Libya.
For her part, Clinton is poised to point out Trump’s contradictions, and to call out his false claim that he was opposed to the Iraq war from the start. Perhaps more intriguing will be how she focuses on Trump’s temperament, calling in to question his fitness to be commander-in-chief based simply on things he’s saying on stage.
If Clinton thought stories about her email server and use would play out before debate season, that is clearly and entirely wrong. Talk of her emails consumed nearly half of her allotted time Wednesday night –- and that was without Trump even being in a position to challenge her directly.
Partly as a consequence of answering so few questions in recent weeks, there are many unanswered questions about Clinton’s emails, not to mention new disclosures likely to come out this month and next. Clinton is still working on a clear, crisp explanation for why she used a private server and whether that reflects on her judgment –- issues Trump will look to exploit.
There’s no debate briefing book in the world that would suggest a candidate for president of the United States praise Vladimir Putin’s approval rating, insult top U.S. generals and sound off about what can be learned from the body language of top-secret intelligence briefers.
Trump has been explicit that he’s not preparing for the debates in any traditional sense and he proved that by bringing his free-wheeling style to the first joint forum with Clinton. Whether it’s advisable for Trump to be essentially winging it in a debate is its own question. Beyond that, don’t underestimate how much that challenges Clinton, who would much prefer sticking to a script than an improv battle.
That pun is only slightly intentional, since the same goes for Clinton and Trump. These are two of the largest personalities to ever grace a presidential ticket and that becomes more obvious when the lights are on. Both are prepared to defy and redefine conventional labels; try to sort out, for example, who the hawk and who the dove was at the Wednesday night forum.
Neither candidate lacks for confidence and neither is prone to giving ground –- whether that’s Clinton on emails or Trump on Putin. It’s a recipe for some disagreements as big as the personas involved.
If the challenge was to look like a commander-in-chief at the "Commander-in-Chief Forum," one could argue that neither candidate succeeded. Clinton appeared defensive and combative at times, as she was forced to explain her choices and record. Trump talked around a range of questions and offered at-times-contradictory answers. Both gave their opponents fresh fodder for attacks.
It may be that the first forum will only drive more interest in the third-party candidates -– the people who are lobbying for inclusion in the highly-anticipated debates.
from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2cnTMIk
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