 Op-ed: Monday was the first televised debate with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sharing the same stage.
At times it appeared Donald Trump was one of Dr. Jane Goodall’s chimpanzees. Asked about Russians or others spying on us, Trump said it could have been anyone, even a “400 pound man sitting on a bed.” Time after time he took the bait when Hillary Clinton talked about the government loopholes he had benefited from. He boasted of making money from the recession which cost millions their homes. “That’s called business, by the way.” He was unclear about when and if he would release his tax details, at one point saying he would if she, Mrs Clinton, released her emails and then saying he would not. Clinton responded: “Well, I think you've seen another example of bait-and- switch here. For 40 years, everyone running for president has released their tax returns. You can go and see nearly, I think, 39, 40 years of our tax returns, but everyone has done it. We know the IRS has made clear there is no prohibition on releasing it when you're under audit. “So you've got to ask yourself, why won't he release his tax returns? And I think there may be a couple of reasons. First, maybe he's not as rich as he says he is. Second, maybe he's not as charitable as he claims to be.” Trump has refused offers of millions of dollars from billionaire Mark Cuban if he would simply answer some questions about his alleged wealth. A CNN poll and others said Clinton won the debate, but time will tell. The 538 website said her poll numbers will rise if she did win the debate. Trump frequently interrupted Clinton but she did not seem to react. “Polling over the next few days will reveal how voters, particularly those who haven’t made up their minds about whether or for whom they will cast their ballots, processed the debate. Immediate reactions from focus groups and spot polling showed Clinton the victor,” said Real Clear Politics. Rolling Stone said: “The most important exchange of the night came on climate change. Clinton, after outlining her plan to make America a clean-energy superpower, hit Trump as a denier: "Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese," she said. "I think it's real." “Trump then lied. Flat out lied. In a night full of lies, Trump's attempt to disavow climate denial was "bigly" the biggest. "I did not. I did not," Trump said, overtalking. "I do not say that." “But Trump did say that. In a tweet in November of 2012, Trump insisted: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." “This is not the only time Trump has blasted climate change as a myth. Indeed, climate denial is a drum Trump likes to bang nearly as much as the racist birther lie."
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Op-ed: Hillary Clinton may win all five primaries Tuesday, four of them are closed. Only Democrats can vote.
Sen. Bernie Sanders hasn’t won one primary in which only Democrats can vote. As many as 2 million people could vote in Pennsylvania, the most populous state. Clinton beat President Obama in 2008. In 2012, when Obama had no real competition only 600,000 voted. Primaries also are being held in Maryland, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island. Clinton leads in polls in most. Hillary Clinton already has nearly a 3 million lead in the popular vote. Bernie Sanders declined to withdraw. Media outlets are undecided whether Sanders wants to use his popularity to influence the party’s platform, or whether he will fight all the way to the competition. Doing both will be difficult. His supporters are making it even harder with snide remarks, bringing up former President Bill Clinton’s relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Many pundits think that will backfire. It also is hypocritical for Sanders to complain that closed primaries are preventing him from winning. On one of his websites he said closed primaries are needed to prevent “political sabotage.” Why should Republicans or Democrats be allowed to disrupt the vote of the other party? As for Millennials being wedded to Sanders, Politico reports Clinton has a 36-point advantage when asked to choose between her and Trump. Former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin, who thrashed Sanders in the gubernatorial race 30 years ago told USA Today her former competitor will endorse Clinton. Clinton reportedly is already looking for a vice president, and created a buzz during the weekend when she said it could be another woman. http://www.newtekjournalismukworld.com/robert-weller/biggest-surprise-of-presidential-campaign  Clinton and Sanders-will he concede? Op-Ed: Hillary Clinton outdid her wildest expectations during Tuesday’s voting, with the counting not ending until Wednesday morning as two races were so close. Winning Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri was like a hydrogen bomb compared to the IED Bernie Sanders surprised her with in Michigan. Donald Trump did well also, but Gov. John Kasich slapped him in the face in Ohio. It didn’t stop the reality show carnival barker but makes a brokered convention more possible. It’s hard to imagine his poor showing – he only got pluralities not majorities – weren’t at least partly a result of the bad publicity he has gotten for the violence at his rallies. One sheriff considered arresting him for inciting violence. That charge was dropped. And his outrageous xenophobic, anti-women, racist and anti-Muslim charges may play a factor. The race caused Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to suspend his campaign. Even those who are not Republicans or not a fan were impressed by a speech that reminded people that the American nation is more important than any one candidate. “I ask the American people: Do not give into fear,” he said. The remark was aimed at Trump. The two candidates have exchanged insults about their urination problems. Things were going well for Clinton, who made a cameo appearance on the widely popular “Broad City,” a favorite of millenials. She showed she could blink either eye. Sanders made clear he was not going away, though he would be getting less airtime. “Our plan on this is we’ve got a long way to go, and we’ve got to demonstrate that Bernie’s the strongest candidate,” said Sanders strategist Tad Devine. “We believe that slowly we can win support for people who aren’t for someone, or who are softly for her, and then we can reach out more.” |
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Robert Weller
2016 US election news and other news from the USA
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Worked in journalism, including on the Internet, for more than 40 years. Started as a news editor at the Colorado Daily at the University of Colorado, joined a small Montana newspaper, the Helena Independent-Record, and then United Press International. Archives
November 2016
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