academy-sponsors-fall2016The Second Presidential Debate is now behind us.  Was it foolishness? Somewhat.  Was it historic? Perhaps.  Was it full of lies and unchecked statements? Oh, yes.  

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have proven themselves as the go-to for entertaining banter.  But we shouldn’t take this lightly.  We are very close to electing someone new to take over our country.  Right now, it seems like we are voting just for who we would NOT want to be in the White House instead of true idealistic views. There is much talk about which candidate is unfit to run the white house.  As distasteful as that is, let’s be realistic and sensible.  Why would you or anyone with common sense elect someone who has repeatedly discriminated against minorities, women, and just about everyone?

We as the people have been recently presented with a leaked video of Trump discussing how he would grope women and kiss women without their permission.  Who in their right mind would brag about sexually assaulting women?  Let’s not forget about how he stated that if Ivanka was not his daughter, he would date her.  That is completely disgusting. Oh, I’m sorry.  Those were just words.  That was just “locker room” talk.

What I don’t understand is that people talk about Hillary Clinton and her likeability and trust issues.  Apparently voters do not like her because of those issues, which is the reason she has not won over some voters.  Yet.  Is that seriously a topic of discussion?  So, has Trump won over voters with his misogynistic comments?

Let’s get on to the debate.  Clinton’s theme — other than reminding viewers of Trump’s troubles — was to celebrate America’s diversity.  She believes that we as a country can be “stronger together” if we all work together and overcome the divisiveness that sets Americans against one another.

On the other hand, Trump dove straight into divisiveness. He stated that he began this campaign because he was “tired of seeing such foolish things” happen to our country.  Wow.  Is this the pot calling the kettle black? Trump is tired of seeing foolish things but yet, he is the epitome of straight foolery.    

A hot topic for this election is health care, and specifically Obamacare.  Should it be removed, should it be tweaked, should it be kept? Like many other things, this is where our candidates disagree.  No surprise there.  

Clinton would like to keep Obamacare.  Or as she put it in the debate, keep “the things that work”.  She wants to save what works such as the ability to stay under your parents’ insurance up until age 26.  But she definitely agrees that premiums are way too high. 

Not one for nuance, Trump didn’t waste any time in letting everyone know that he believes Obamacare is a failure.
“Obamacare is a disaster,” he said. “ You know it, we all know it.  Obamacare will never work.  We have to repeal it and replace it with something absolutely much less expensive and something that works.”  And “the Donald” really thinks he knows exactly what the American people need?

Another hot topic was taxes.  What’s ironic is that Trump thinks he has a brilliant plan when it comes to lowering taxes, when he himself has taken advantage tax breaks. Trump claims he will lower taxes from the middle class, and that Clinton will raise taxes.  

Of course, Hil wanted to set the record straight and let us know that everything that Trump has said is simply untrue.  One thing that is true, though, is that he does live in what Clinton called “an alternate reality.”  Hillary wants to invest in the American people as well as hard-working families, as evidenced by her words at the debate as well as her policy positions.

A surprising turn of events had to be the end of the debate; when a brilliant man wanted Trump and Clinton to share something positive that they like about one another.  I wanted to cringe.  I did not want to know what Trump was going to say.  Was a compliment even capable of escaping his foul mouth? I sure didn’t think so.

Luckily, Clinton went first which gave for some breathing room.  She took a safe route though, and complimented the Trump kids for being so devoted to their father.  

Then it was Trump’s turn to return the favor.  I wanted to plug my ears.  But this came out:

“I respect that she is a fighter. I disagree much of what she is fighting for. I disagree with her judgement. But she does fight hard.  I consider that to be a very good trait.”

And that is the truth.  Hillary Clinton is a fighter.  I can only hope that she will continue fighting until the very end of this election and take the presidency!  Otherwise, we are in trouble.  

This piece was produced by a student in the Madison365 Academy program. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Madison365, its staff, its board of directors, or its sponsors.