Tonight at nine on NBC a nationwide audience will be tuning in to the first Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. What are the things to look for in terms of factors which have impact on the average America who is watching? We'll briefly look at some of the seemingly minor items which will be present and we'll try to look at it from a non-partisan vantage point even though this blogger has his clear favorite as do most of us.
Let's look at Ms. Clinton first. Since she is much shorter than Donald Trump at 5 feet four inches (Donald is 6'2"), so will that be noticeable and have a significant visual impact? We know that her campaign asked the debate commission for a step stool but was turned down, however, they did allow her to use a customized podium more fitting to her height. Will she be irritated by having Gennifer Flowers, one of husband Bill's ex-mistresses seated on the front row as a guest of Trump? Will she maintain an even and cool demeanor or will her voice become loud and shrill should she get excited during the debate? Will Lester Holt, the moderator and an avowed liberal, give her repeated passes in the questioning which are noticeable to the audience? And finally, will the rules disallowing any unscheduled breaks create a problem for her if she has a coughing attack or feels light headed? These visual factors could have as much, if not more, impact on the debate than the content since Americans are so prone to the visual not the verbal with a steady diet of television and drama.
And as for Mr. Trump. He has been quite cool and collected lately, staying on message in his campaign after his early, rambling and sometimes snarky start. Will he be able to maintain that discipline or will he go off script and become too forceful? Will his looser framework for preparation as reported serve him well or create problems? Will the liberal moderator throw much tougher questions at him and how will he respond? And like Ms. Clinton's front row concerns, will Donald be bothered by Mark Cuban's presence on the front row? Cuban has voiced extensive displeasure with Trump and his views. Finally, will Trump be able to capitalize on his current uptick in the polls without too much overconfidence?
We all know that on the major issues such as immigration and "refugee" migration, the economy and energy, military preparedness and unemployment causes, this election offers a very wide divergence between the candidates. Many think it is the widest we've seen in modern times, so the issues and the answers to them are what's really important. But it will be interesting to see what the media, after the fact, points out since they are sadly very often so shallow in their presentations, focusing on the visual and not on the issues.
We'll be back tomorrow to look and see. Have a great day and get the popcorn popping for tonight's main event. It could very well be a "doozie".
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Let's look at Ms. Clinton first. Since she is much shorter than Donald Trump at 5 feet four inches (Donald is 6'2"), so will that be noticeable and have a significant visual impact? We know that her campaign asked the debate commission for a step stool but was turned down, however, they did allow her to use a customized podium more fitting to her height. Will she be irritated by having Gennifer Flowers, one of husband Bill's ex-mistresses seated on the front row as a guest of Trump? Will she maintain an even and cool demeanor or will her voice become loud and shrill should she get excited during the debate? Will Lester Holt, the moderator and an avowed liberal, give her repeated passes in the questioning which are noticeable to the audience? And finally, will the rules disallowing any unscheduled breaks create a problem for her if she has a coughing attack or feels light headed? These visual factors could have as much, if not more, impact on the debate than the content since Americans are so prone to the visual not the verbal with a steady diet of television and drama.
And as for Mr. Trump. He has been quite cool and collected lately, staying on message in his campaign after his early, rambling and sometimes snarky start. Will he be able to maintain that discipline or will he go off script and become too forceful? Will his looser framework for preparation as reported serve him well or create problems? Will the liberal moderator throw much tougher questions at him and how will he respond? And like Ms. Clinton's front row concerns, will Donald be bothered by Mark Cuban's presence on the front row? Cuban has voiced extensive displeasure with Trump and his views. Finally, will Trump be able to capitalize on his current uptick in the polls without too much overconfidence?
We all know that on the major issues such as immigration and "refugee" migration, the economy and energy, military preparedness and unemployment causes, this election offers a very wide divergence between the candidates. Many think it is the widest we've seen in modern times, so the issues and the answers to them are what's really important. But it will be interesting to see what the media, after the fact, points out since they are sadly very often so shallow in their presentations, focusing on the visual and not on the issues.
We'll be back tomorrow to look and see. Have a great day and get the popcorn popping for tonight's main event. It could very well be a "doozie".
This
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