The games have ended
The third and final presidential debate was held on Oct. 19 and it was all we hoped for and more. Former Secretary Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off and provided entertainment, or disgust, for the masses.
As we sort through the memes, gifs, tweets and Saturday Night Live reenactments, we realize that this all almost over. The 2016 presidential election will soon come to an end as we are less than a month away from knowing which direction this country is heading.
The debates gave the viewing audience a pretty good idea of what Americans will be dealing with when either President Clinton or President Trump is sworn into office in January.
As the candidates fought for those who are still unsure of who to vote for, they made it clear that they are miles away from one another when it comes to their ideas of the best way to solve the problems of the American people.
However, much of the policy talk was lost in the spectacle of the circus that has become the 2016 presidential race. The candidates spent much of the debates rehashing the past wrongs of their opponent and dodging questions.
Trump repeatedly referred to the Clinton’s email controversy regardless of the question. Clinton, in response, would bring up Trump’s sexist and xenophobic remarks. For watchers, it seemed to be the same debate with different moderators.
As usual with debates, there is a post-debate wrap-up and many polls deciding who won. Clinton was dubbed the winner of all three rounds. Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com stated, “She won the debates by a clearer margin than any previous candidate in the six elections in which there were three debates that CNN polled.”
Trump has claimed foul play on the behalf of Clinton and the moderators. Throughout the second debate, Trump complained about unfair treatment. Trump asked Raddatz, “Why don’t you interrupt her? You interrupt me all the time.”
While Trump was accused of whining, Clinton was perceived as taking joy in Trump’s faltering performances. Her to-camera expressions were likened to Jim Halpert’s from the office. Tweeter Jaime Fuller asked, “Did Hillary just ‘Jim Halpert’ the camera during the Iraq war fact check?”
The debates became comedic gold for many. The infamous shimmy of the first debate, Trump aimlessly wandering around the debate stage in the second debate, and the audience openly laughing at a presidential nominee stating their respect for women.
As enjoyable as the debates were, in the most morbid sense, it is starting to settle in that it is actually time to choose one of these people for president. We could be seeing our first female president, who was practically forced to shift further left, or a man who may or may not respect the choice of the American populace. Either way, the country needs to brace for a startling shift from what we have had over the last eight years, in personality or policy.