Judging the Debate

I have to laugh at the articles today about judging and evaluating the presidential debate tonight. A lot.

We had the Quartz piece educating us on how to win a debate according to the Harvard debate team. While interesting, it has no relevance to tonight's debate. Count on it. It talks about things like 'clarity of message, authenticity, responsiveness,' and buzz words that have had no place in this election.

Then there was the CBS piece describing the different 'styles' for preparing for the debate that Hillary and Donald have. Styles indeed. Hillary prepares, Donald doesn't think he needs to. He's right. She's wrong.

The one you might want to read is CNN's piece on what to watch for tonight. My favorite is that Hillary's people have placed Mark Cuban (who Donald HATES) in the front row. Sort of like red flags to a bully. Oh, sorry, bull. Donald said he would invite Jennifer Flowers if Mark was there. Alrighty then. Do I need to remind you that what is at stake in this election is the future of our country?

Here is the 411.

Life on the political presidential trail as we have known it - for a century, is over. I believe the polls are wrong. I believe people now lie when polled the way the candidates lie when asked pretty much any question. Since there is no privacy anymore, I think people are not publicly saying what they will and won't do. It started in the last election when exit polls did not show Obama as keeping his residency in the big white house on the great lawn of the USA with the certainty he turned out to have when all the votes were added up.

Then there is tonight. The lines are drawn fellow Americans. People already know who they are for and who they are against. The key is getting them to go and pull the lever for it. Every person in America has made up their mind. It's ridiculous to think otherwise. So, unless one of the candidate offers rebates of significant dollar value if you go and vote and prove it, tonight is just entertainment. It's the biggest reality television show of the century thus far. And, that's about it. Can Hillary get Donald riled? Can Donald make Hillary's cold, hard, femininity-less self appear? Will Lester call anyone out on their fabrications of facts and figures that make or break our lives?

Hillary's only great debate moment, in my opinion, was in the 2008 debates for New Hampshire when the question asked 'hurt her feelings.' Her numbers went up, and Obama's sarcastic, cold-hearted reply caused his to go down. Perhaps if she can get that moment again, she could win the debate rating. We all laughed and her point was made.

As for Donald's great debate moments? I guess I'm too sad to put it in here. Shame on us all, for his best debate moments are riddled with evil and crash value of sound bite equals rage results. So there is really nothing at stake tonight other than our own time investment. Is there something more productive you could be doing?

The marketing is over. No one cares about issues and the truth. They care about their own anger, fear, and future. The belief that single issues - or even combined ones - are what we are voting for is moot.

So, enjoy the evening, and even if the polls swing to and fro over the coming week after tonight is said and done, there is no selling being done here tonight. The buyers have already chosen the product they want. They just haven't gone to the store to pay for it.

Christine Merser, Managing Partner