# \*\*\*Join the SDMB panel of experts for live debate coverage - 9/26/2016\*\*\*

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [September 26, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946 "2016-09-26T17:39:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 42

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/821 "2016-09-27T17:25:41Z")

</div>

> [@MikeF](#):
>
> The stories of Trump’s failing to pay local contractors for work done, or paying a fraction of what was agreed upon are pretty common. Many of these businesses were of the “mom and pop” variety, putting everything they had into the Trump basket with the expectation that he would actually honor the contracts… Then he stiffed them and few, if any had the resources to hire lawyers to fight Trump. They were wiped out financially. What is Trump’s response?..  
> Legal? I guess so. But is this the type of person we need running our country? Or walking your dog?

I think stiffing contractors is fairly common among unscrupulous businessmen. I contracted for a guy for whom it was routine. I kept working for him because he’d pay me for job N if I agreed to do job N+1. I finally sued the guy, won, and he negotiated the legal judgment down, daring me to hire another lawyer to get the money from the first judgment!

But Trump is the only “respected” billionaire I’ve heard of doing this.

IANAL, but such behavior fits _my_ definitions of “fraud” and “criminal” whether he ends up in prison or not.

> [@Flyer](#):
>
> You liberals are so far inside your bubble of anti-reality, that you can’t even fathom the idea of somebody sincerely disagreeing with you. The only thing you can come up with is “satire.”
> 
> Because Clinton has a 23-year unbroken record of dishonesty, bad ideas, growing government, and untrustworthiness.

Hi, **Flyer**! Can you indulge me by answering a serious question? I can imagine someone not liking Hillary. But if your criterion is dislike of “dishonesty” and “untrustworthiness” I find it flabbergasting that you’d prefer Trump! _ **Flabbergasting!** _ Explain? Is it just that Trump’s dishonesty is for greed and egomania while Hillary’s is … what? Is she a Manchurian candidate for North Korea??

> [@Flyer](#):
>
> By the way, Trump is absolutely right about NATO. Out of 28 countries, only 5–the US, Greece, Britain, Estonia, and Poland–currently meet or exceed the target of 2% of GDP.

Supposing that this factoid has some validity, is that your criterion? During an hour of incoherent buffoonery, the guy manages to _blurt out a single valid factoid_ and you’re impressed? 🆒

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My pessimistic assessment half-way through the debate looks silly now with betting markets and, hopefully, polls moving toward Hillary. Two reasons for my blunder:

(1)

> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> Trump is wining the angry votes. He needs to hope that’s \> 50% of all votes.

I guess the morons, racists, and angry-but-we-don’t-know-about-what have already gone for Trump. The remaining Undecideds actually have some brains.

(2) The betting on Trump reflects the possibility of a “surprise”, either an October terrorist attack or a major stumble by Hillary. By not losing her temper or having a coughing fit, Hillary passed her first test.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/822 "2016-09-27T17:30:12Z")

</div>

> **[Google searches for ‘registrarse para votar’ hit all-time high during debate](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/09/27/google-searches-for-registrarse-para-votar-hit-all-time-high-during-debate/?postshare=9761474971167190&tid=ss_tw)**
>
> The term was Google's third-trending search in the U.S. at 10:30 p.m. Monday

Google searches for “registare para votar” hit all-time high during debate.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/823 "2016-09-27T17:34:34Z")

</div>

> [@JKellyMap](#):
>
> But isn’t this a \*good \*thing, to let Trump show his true jerkish colors?

I agree. I don’t know if Holt planned it or just couldn’t get a word in, but I thought it helped out Clinton tremendously for Trump to spew out word salad.

For example:

> [@](#):
>
> As far as the cyber, I agree to parts of what Secretary Clinton said. We should be better than anybody else, and perhaps we’re not. I don’t think anybody knows it was Russia that broke into the DNC. She’s saying Russia, Russia, Russia, but I don’t – maybe it was. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. It could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, OK?
> 
> \<snip\>
> 
> So we have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is – it is a huge problem. I have a son. He’s 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers, it’s unbelievable. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it’s hardly doable.
> 
> But I will say, we are not doing the job we should be doing. But that’s true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better, Lester, and certainly cyber is one of them.

His time probably ran out somewhere in his long answer about “the cyber”, but I wouldn’t have wanted that to be interrupted.

> [@adaher](#):
>
> And I don’t think that for the average voter, dislike of her manner is about her sex. Not all female politicians run into that problem. Mainly the ones who can’t relate to people.

I think that very few voters consciously think “I don’t like here because she’s a woman.” Although there are some who genuinely think that a woman shouldn’t be president. But it’s undeniable that she and every other female politician get stricter scrutiny for a lot of things that men don’t get picked apart for. She’s gotten criticized for not smiling enough before, and then for smiling too much last night.

If you could find any female politician who hasn’t run into that problem, I would love to hear about it. I’m guessing that any female politician on either side has run into the same problems, just Clinton has gotten it more since she’s the first female presidential candidate on a major ticket.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/824 "2016-09-27T17:39:36Z")

</div>

> [@AnalogSignal](#):
>
> They are calling it the “Hillary shimmy.” As expected, it is a GIF.
> 
> [x.com](https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/780604809258889216)
> 
> I thought it was weird but it seems that people like it.

this is about the only “girly” thing I see in mrs. Clinton’s manner. she did it when mr Obama said “likable enough” during their debate. it is kinda cutsy.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/825 "2016-09-27T17:43:23Z")

</div>

> [@BigT](#):
>
> I get that part. What I didn’t understand is why you think he came off as a presidential contender. What exactly would have have had to do to not come off like one, in your estimation?

Hey, don’t get me wrong: I don’t think Trump has said a Presidential thing in his life. I think he’s an uneducated buffoon who had no business being on that stage in the first place. But the stuff I’m talking about is the shenanigans he pulled during the primaries: Mugging for the camera, rolling his eyes and making faces at his opponents, calling them schoolyard names, etc. He didn’t do any of that stuff. And for apparently nearly half the country, that seems to be about where the bar is set for him.

Like many, I’m baffled and dismayed by the rise of Trump. I always expected a guy like him could get the Pat Buchanan/Ross Perot voters - about 25% of the electorate. But he’s polling close to Hillary, which says something terrible about America, or about Clinton, or both.

That’s the backdrop for my claim that he’d ‘win’ the debate if the disinterested voters saw him in the debate and changed their opinion of him from “reality TV star and rich guy” to “person who could be President.” Because that seems to be about the level of analysis the average American is applying this year.

We should not forget that Hillary said a lot of stupid things too, only these formed her actual economic policy. Half a billion solar panels replacing the entire fossil fuel production system? Free daycare and education for everyone? And she’s going to pay for all this by getting the ‘rich’ to just pay their fair share? America becoming a ‘green energy superpower’? This is fantasy, not serious policy.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/826 "2016-09-27T17:45:35Z")

</div>

> [@Sam\_Lowry](#):
>
> I think that very few voters consciously think “I don’t like here because she’s a woman.” Although there are some who genuinely think that a woman shouldn’t be president. But it’s undeniable that she and every other female politician get stricter scrutiny for a lot of things that men don’t get picked apart for. She’s gotten criticized for not smiling enough before, and then for smiling too much last night.
> 
> If you could find any female politician who hasn’t run into that problem, I would love to hear about it. I’m guessing that any female politician on either side has run into the same problems, just Clinton has gotten it more since she’s the first female presidential candidate on a major ticket.

I don’t question that females are judged differently from males to their disadvantage. For example, while male politicians who are dumb get criticized for their ignorance, female politicians who are not that bright get flamed so bad it’s just ridiculous. GWB could be super ignorant at times, and so is Donald Trump and Ben Carson, but I never saw them get the same level of hate as Sarah Palin or Michelle Bachmann or Nancy Pelosi.

Women also fall victim to men being turned off by behaviors that remind them of their moms or wives that irritate them. “She’s overbearing” or “she’s shrill”.

Women also get judged more on their appearance than men.

But insincerity, plastic expressions, smugness and smarminess. Those are problems that will harm the candidacy of anyone. I don’t mind that she’s smarter than Donald Trump and I don’t mind her proving it. I just don’t appreciate the smug look after doing so. Reminds me of Al Gore’s behavior towards GWB. It’s kinda like poor sportsmanship in a basketball game. Yeah, you dunked on the guy, you don’t need to taunt. Just prove you’re better and let your performance speak for itself.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/827 "2016-09-27T17:47:39Z")

</div>

> [@marshmallow](#):
>
> This debate may strike a chord with professional women who are used to being interrupted by men who have no idea what they’re talking about.

i did think this. you just listen, state your facts, and move on. it appears that was mrs clinton’s game book.

with the split screen you could see how mr trump is not used to listen to others. he is usually the one to whom every one listens.

mrs clinton is very good at being an attentive listener and that really showed as the night went on, as did mr. trump.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/828 "2016-09-27T17:49:57Z")

</div>

> [@Rushgeekgirl](#):
>
> I think it’s very telling when people point out how “smug” Clinton looked last night but fail to mention how Trump looked. The man came right out and said Clinton doesn’t have 'the look" of a president. He sniffed and rolled his eyes and squinted and snorted. He was so cocky and smarmy and condescending, but Clinton was smug?! I guess that’s the way it works. SHE looks smug. HE looks confident.

I would like to assure all that I do not make my decisions on who should be President based on whether they look ‘smug’ (or, for that matter sniffing and snorting every thirty seconds or so). I only base my decision on the important matters, such as whether their ass looks big in whatever they are wearing, and presence or absence of a flag pin.

Just clearing that up.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/829 "2016-09-27T17:51:05Z")

</div>

> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#):
>
> I wonder if it’s plausible that his people told Trump hey, listen, man, the stakes are too high here. Every time you feel yourself getting irate, before you say anything, just take a deep breath, or have a sip of water, OK?

I also wondered if that was what he was doing. if so, he gave up on that game plan with in a half an hour. interesting that there is commentary that he was doing well for the first 20-30 minutes, right around the time he gave up the sniffing and drinking; then started the interrupting and rambling.

or it could be a “defective sniffing mike”.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/830 "2016-09-27T17:54:52Z")

</div>

I just wanted to quickly give my impression of the debate as someone who has always voted conservatively and had a fairly strong dislike for Hillary.

Trump looked bad. Hillary looked about as good as she could possibly have hoped for.

The one on one format just kills Trump’s previous debate strategy, which was to hit with short bursts of bombast. But sustained coherence for 75 minutes was a struggle.

Big picture impact? I don’t know. Every time I thought he’d take a hit in the past I was wrong.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/831 "2016-09-27T17:56:36Z")

</div>

> [@El\_Kabong](#):
>
> I would like to assure all that I do not make my decisions on who should be President based on whether they look ‘smug’ (or, for that matter sniffing and snorting every thirty seconds or so). I only base my decision on the important matters, such as whether their ass looks big in whatever they are wearing, and presence or absence of a flag pin.
> 
> Just clearing that up.

I don’t think debates should be a factor in deciding at all, especially since it’s really just a joint press conference, not a real debate(although Holt let them actually debate more than usual).

Assuming you know the candidates’ histories and their positions, I can’t imagine anything said at a debate that should change minds. And what does actually change minds tends to be pretty non-substantive stuff. Clinton wouldn’t become more honest because she does well in a debate, and Trump wouldn’t become more fit to be President just because he kept his shit together for 90 minutes.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/832 "2016-09-27T18:14:32Z")

</div>

> [@adaher](#):
>
> I don’t think debates should be a factor in deciding at all, especially since it’s really just a joint press conference, not a real debate(although Holt let them actually debate more than usual).
> 
> Assuming you know the candidates’ histories and their positions, I can’t imagine anything said at a debate that should change minds. And what does actually change minds tends to be pretty non-substantive stuff. Clinton wouldn’t become more honest because she does well in a debate, and Trump wouldn’t become more fit to be President just because he kept his shit together for 90 minutes.

Would you be singing the same tune if Hillary did poorly? Just curious.

I think the debates are quite worthy of our attention, poorly formatted they may be. You get to see how candidates stand up when forced to face an adversarial position for an extended period of time. It’s one thing to be able to fire up a crowd of sycophants, it’s quite another to be challenged repeatedly in front of a (supposedly) neutral crowd. I don’t want to know who can preach to the choir, I want to know who can stand up to the heat of battle.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/833 "2016-09-27T18:20:39Z")

</div>

Debates are worthy of our attention, to be sure, but so are a lot of things that shouldn’t necessarily influence us much. I’m more interested in knowing what these people have done and how their talents and experience will make them good Presidents. And of course I want to know their plans. While being able to defend your plans and past is useful, they’d have to fail in a very substantive way for me to start rethinking their candidacy. Probably the only time I’ve ever liked a candidate and then disliked him at a debate was when John Edwards talked about getting our allies to help more in Iraq. The moderator asked him what he’d do if our allies would not send more troops. He said, “I don’t accept that premise.” THat signalled right there to me that his stance on the Iraq war was strictly a political calibration, criticize the war while supporting the war and promising to wage it better while not really having any real ideas on how to do it. But those moments are rare, and of course now we know just how insincere a person John Edwards is.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/834 "2016-09-27T18:27:38Z")

</div>

> [@Sam\_Stone](#):
>
> 1. Hey, don’t get me wrong: I don’t think Trump has said a Presidential thing in his life. I think he’s an uneducated buffoon who had no business being on that stage in the first place.
> 
> 2. Like many, I’m baffled and dismayed by the rise of Trump. I always expected a guy like him could get the Pat Buchanan/Ross Perot voters - about 25% of the electorate. But he’s polling close to Hillary, which says something terrible about America, or about Clinton, or both.
> 
> 3. We should not forget that Hillary said a lot of stupid things too, only these formed her actual economic policy. Half a billion solar panels replacing the entire fossil fuel production system? Free daycare and education for everyone? And she’s going to pay for all this by getting the ‘rich’ to just pay their fair share? America becoming a ‘green energy superpower’? This is fantasy, not serious policy.

1. I completely agree.
2. Me too, though that might be a little unfair to Perot. He was tapping into a partly similar feeling as Trump does, but without much if any racial implication (to what degree that’s just because it’s looked for more now or it really wasn’t there?). He was a loony toon though. On the plus side, a lot of Trump’s support in polls _is_ people who just think Clinton is worse than Trump, not that Trump is good.
3. This relates to the point I made above which was kind of cutting Clinton a break. She says Sanders/Warren type stuff it’s doubtful she really believes strongly in, and anyway if she gets elected she’d very likely to have to work with the same Speaker as Trump would, Paul Ryan. So yeah, the ultra green and tax/spend stuff is fluff for the base, or some wishlist for a longer term future Democratic takeover of everything, besides whether it would really work in the real world.

The main negative point seems to be her smugness. I don’t think this is a sexism issue. Rather I think it’s at least in part a tradeoff. She had to try to annoy Trump. That worked at least to some degree, but there’s some blowback in looking the smug defender of the status quo to uncommitted’s who think the status quo is broken.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/835 "2016-09-27T18:30:24Z")

</div>

> [@](#):
>
> Women also get judged more on their appearance than men.

Gosh yes. Weight and clothes get brought up a lot, and does just general how-attractive-is-the-face. Now weight does get brought up for men sometimes, too, and I admit that. I can’t recall actual facial beauty being mentioned with men. My one and only memory of any significant comment on a male politician’s clothing is The Tan Suit.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/836 "2016-09-27T18:31:07Z")

</div>

Trump was sniffling yesterday and sniveling today.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/837 "2016-09-27T18:32:36Z")

</div>

Male politicians do get judged by their appearance, but it’s a little less tough on them. You can’t wear glasses or have a beard, you can’t be fat. ALthough guys do have one problem women don’t have. they can’t be short. Mitch Daniels was told by a consultant, “you debate Obama, you shake his hand, you come up to his chest. Election over.” Clinton’s tininess compared to Trump does not seem to be a problem for her the way it would be for a short male.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/838 "2016-09-27T18:40:51Z")

</div>

> [@adaher](#):
>
> Male politicians do get judged by their appearance, but it’s a little less tough on them. You can’t wear glasses or have a beard, you can’t be fat. ALthough guys do have one problem women don’t have. they can’t be short. Mitch Daniels was told by a consultant, “you debate Obama, you shake his hand, you come up to his chest. Election over.” Clinton’s tininess compared to Trump does not seem to be a problem for her the way it would be for a short male.

So James Madison would be out of luck today.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/839 "2016-09-27T18:44:17Z")

</div>

“You’ve been fighting ISIS your entire adult life.” Dumbest thing said in the debate? Dumbest thing Ever said at one of these things?

I thought Hillary looked smug some of the time, too. But I didn’t think it was a big deal. I laughed out loud many times at this debate, so Hillary’s smiling during those moments didn’t seem off at all.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\
**Post date:** [September 27, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946/840 "2016-09-27T18:52:25Z")

</div>

My other question is the part where he said “… I have the endorsement of ICE …” I did not hear “ICE”, I heard “IS”. It will always be transcribed as the former, but it still sounds like he was starting to name that terror group.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946.md?page=41)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/join-the-sdmb-panel-of-experts-for-live-debate-coverage-9-26-2016/766946.md?page=43)
