If she shows up, and that’s a matter for discussion in and of itself, what should she do? Should she play nice, sit back and just play the middle of the road? Should she bite Trump’s ankles every chance she gets?
My feeling, Trump is very close to a meltdown. It won’t take too many comments about him being a sexual pervert for him to go off into his ‘crooked system, rigged election’ rant. That would be priceless on national TV.
If asked I’d say go for his ankles Hillary. Push him closer to his meltdown.
I’m currious as to how much of a crutch Wallace is going to be for Trump?
I think she should try as hard as possible to stay on policy issues. I don’t think she needs to attack his character. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for these past couple of weeks, you know what kind of person he is.
I think she should just stand back and let him keep shooting himself in the foot. With even a little luck, he might miss and shoot himself dead.
She said it best when she said she is great at her work, but not so great about talking about her work. Silence with a smile is her friend. The less she says the better. And don’t forget that everything that happens gets recorded. She really doesn’t need Trump’s supporters making soundbites out of two or three comments made in a 90 minutes debate that could backfire.
When he goes low, she should go high. Basically ignore the BS, stay positive, talk about issues (in positive and hopeful ways), and be optimistic (or fake it).
Not showing up would be a huge mistake.
Spending the debate in a shouting match would be a mistake.
Learn how to show emotion like Michele Obama. Short of that, since she’s winning, she should keep doing what she has been doing. Attack Trump and standby as Trump alienates independents and all minority groups.
Does anyone remember at the end of the second debate when Hillary accuse Trump of using illegally dumped Chinese still in his projects? It got lost in the noise but Hillary’s making that point in her speeches.
Have her open with that this time, and see how Trump answers it.
The case against Trump has been made and will continue to be; this is the venue to make the case for herself and for a positive vision.
Basic message -
America is better now than it has been and is on track for getting better yet. More of us than ever are part of the American dream and recognized as equal partners in the American story. But we have lots of work still to do. [Use stories from real people you have met and listened to] We are unavoidably part of an interconnected and increasingly automated world. We cannot hide from it or run back to a time that these challenges did not exist; we must face them head on. Trade deals must be made and they must be good ones. We need to be the leaders of our increasingly technologically dominated world. That means investing in education, in our people, as our greatest resource. Our strength is all of us, men, women, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, other religion or none, straight or gay, rich and poor, urban, suburban and rural.
Working together we can make America even greater.
I agree. It would look like she was treating like she’d already won, like she didn’t have to go through the normal process or do what she agreed to do, like she thought she didn’t actually have to wait for the people to elect her.
Make the point that Trump has done the job to show why he shouldn’t be president. Then act presidential and put forth the argument why she should be president. I think that’s the arc: 1st debate bait Trump and watch him meltdown, 2nd debate don’t lose, 3rd debate emphasize your qualifications and qualities.
DSeid has it right. She’s talked enough about Trump. She needs to portray herself as not only the more qualified candidate but also the most positive and optimistic, someone who believes in the goodness and potential of America and Americans.
She should quote Granny Weatherwax: “sin, young man, is when you treat people like things.” And point out that that’s what Trump does: he treats everyone like things, all the time. All he does is use people for his own aggrandizement and pleasure. And if he were elected, his followers would find out it’s just as true of them as it is of the people he rants against.
That’s my advice for Hillary, to fit into a debate. But that reels off into a somewhat longer thought:
We’re all sinners, so the Bible says, and it’s true by Granny Weatherwax’ definition as much as it is by any Biblical definition. We all, far too often, treat people like things, even the people closest to us. But at least some of the time, we connect with people as people, and give them room to be their true selves in our presence. And even the rest of the time, we at least recognize that other people are real people, and are more than just our mental images of them.
I’m not sure Trump ever even does that. He seemingly always treats people like things: things to give him adulation, things to give him sex, things to be the spear-carriers or backdrops or the villains in the drama of his greatness.
