Millions to view crucial US debate

THE pressure is intense for Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton – phenomenally different candidates – who clash in their first debate today.

Stakes are as high as they get since there are just six weeks until the November 8 election. Polls show a close race, with Clinton, 68, enjoying an edge.

As many as 90 million Americans, some estimate, will be glued to their television to catch the showdown. Many analysts say debates usually don’t win a candidate the election but can well lose it for them.

Plenty of American voters have made a decision by now.

But 9% by some estimates still don’t know who to vote for, after a long campaign in which bitter attacks have often replaced substance. And this year has been like none in will the past, with Trump, 70, using social media around the clock in combative fashion, while often making mistakes, misstatements and blunders without troubling his base.

On Saturday, the New York Times endorsed Clinton, who ahead of the debates has been cloistered with aides at home in Chappaqua, north of New York, even practising with relatives playing Trump.

She has been focusing on his psychological profile, with a goal to get Trump to crack, to showhe lacks the even-handed temperament a president needs.

If he reacts by attacking, Trump also risks losing women’s votes.

Clinton’s campaign released a long list of lies it attributes to Donald Trump ahead of the debate.

Trump in turn says preparations are “going very well”. Friday he won the endorsement of former conservative rival Senator Ted Cruz.

Clinton, making her second presidential bid, is an old hand at debates and considered solid.

After almost 40 years of public service, she is very well versed on the issues, and 88% of Americans believe she is smart.

But 65% say they do not find her honest. And 52% have a negative opinion of a woman they see as cerebral, distant or cold.

Her image has been sullied by Trump attacks over her e-mail scandal, the Clinton Foundation’s alleged pay-to-play donations, and her ties to Wall Street.

Trump is still perceived more negatively than Clinton: 61% of Americans have a negative view of him, saying they are put off by his personality and aggressiveness.— AFP