It is debatable

The much awaited debate occurs tonight. But it will not be what it should be. It should be questions to each candidate about their domestic economic plans, foreign relation policies focusing on the middle east, trade policy and the social unrest which is gripping the United States. The questioning should be relentless, much like a cross examination probing evasive answers and inconsistent positions, then and now.

First, the two-minute answer is ridiculous. The moderator should spend at least 10 minutes with each candidate on these issues. We know what Donald Trump will do. He will primarily restate his position that everything the Obama administration has done, with the complicity of Hillary Clinton, has been a disaster. His stock answer will simply be he is going to change everything that has been done in the past eight yrs. Recall that he has said that he could defeat Isis in two weeks and knows more about Isis than the generals. It would be fair to ask how he is going to do this. The clear consensus based on history is that his protectionist trade policies would be a disaster. Will he be confronted with this? Unless the moderator is aggressive and relentless Trump will skate through this debate.

Hillary Clinton should be asked the same sort of questions and confronted with any inconsistencies with past actions or statements. She has to be asked about her emails and classified information. She better have a forthright answer.

I wish I could be more optimistic about how Lester Holt will perform. I do not think he will be up to the job. What I would like to see is two moderators. One chosen by each party. The one chosen by the Democrats could only ask questions of the Republican candidate and vice versa. That of course will never happen. In this era of post-truth politics, I fear we are going to see at least from Trump mainly theater. Regrettably, it may well be effective. It will be up to Hillary Clinton to probe Trumps various positions but this format will make that difficult. I hope I am wrong.