Both debates were quite interesting and showed contrasting sides of American politics. The presidential one showed both our worst nightmares and where this country is going (of course, which candidate is which depends on your views) and the vice presidential one showed what American politics traditionally looks like — two old white guys having arguments about policy.  Trump showed new levels of disregard and craziness. I think Kaine and Pence were substantially, as I expected, but behaviorally surprising. Both of them are good matches for their respective candidates and fill in the gaps while reinforcing the strengths of their campaigns. I don’t think the candidates’ performances will affect the voters much — except for maybe a few undecided voters, but it’s totally possible some of them will stay home instead of voting. I think the first debate performances will get a bit overshadowed by the rest of the debates. 

One of the things I found surprising about the first presidential debate was how much the candidates talked about trade and then rattled off acronyms like the “TPP” or “NAFTA.” I’m not sure I buy the idea of an outraged working-class American returning home to curse free trade, or conversely, someone thanking international markets for eliminating tariffs. It really seems like a manufactured issue by the political parties, and I wouldn’t be surprised if its prominence in this election cycle is more in the interest of pandering to blue-collar voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Of course, debate of substance on the issue of free trade was sorely lacking from both Clinton and Trump; the focus of the debate — and of any presidential debate — was on the sound bites, the quips, the witticisms. Political debates are practically sporting events, and trade is just another thing to talk about between the zingers. 

The notion that an “undecided” voter can exist in the 2016 Presidential Election is perplexing. The candidates could not be any more polarized. Hillary Clinton has spent the majority of her adult life in public service while racist tangerine Donald Trump has never held public office. Hillary Clinton believes that climate change is one of the greatest threats of our time, while Donald Trump believes it is a hoax created by the Chinese. Hillary Clinton has a detailed policy proposal for immigration reform, while Donald Trump’s plan is to build a wall across the United States’ southern border and to have Mexico pay for it. These are only a few of the major differences in the political stances of the candidates. Hillary Clinton produces complex solutions to complex problems, while Donald Trump yells incoherent nonsense and waves his hands like a toddler being deprived of his pacifier. The “undecided” voter must be completely uninformed as to the differences between the two candidates, in which case the chaotic debates likely have provided no further clarity. You may not like either, but one is a politician and one is an irate demagogue with small hands.