Both candidates were ready to rumble
blue backdrop, a discrete band of white stars and a depiction of a golden eagle soaring over the two contenders. But the mood surrounding the opening forum was almost gladitorial, reaching Super Bowl-size levels of hype.
No presidential election in modern times has defied the conventional wisdom as much this one, which has ended up pitting a political neophyte and reality-TV star against the wife of a former president, a member of the family that defines the Democratic establishment. And no presidential debate in the television age has been more hotly anticipated.
For the first time of the campaign, they were face-to-face, side-by-side.
They walked out from opposite sides of the stage, Clinton in a red jacket and slacks, Trump in a gray suit and bright blue tie. They shook hands, greeted the moderator, and retreated to the podiums.
A few hours before the debate, Trump did needle Clinton on Twitter, a platform he has perfected as a political weapon. “My team of deplorables will be managing my Twitter account for this evenings debate,” he wrote, a reference to her description at a fundraiser of his followers as a “basket of Deplorables.”
Clinton was tweeting about the same time: “Trump told 31 outright lies just last week.”
Those jibes might not seem to have set the landscape for a debate focused on the challenge of overhauling America’s tax system or the imperative to devise fresh approaches to the civil war in Syria. Indeed, much of the attention was focused on whether Trump could project restraint for a full 90 minutes, and whether Clinton convincingly could convey a sense of trustworthiness.
History demonstrates that the opening debate can be powerful enough to boost a candidate (John Kennedy in 1960, Ronald Reagan in 1980) or wound one, with lasting consequences (Michael Dukakis in 1988, Al Gore in 2000). Eleven campaigns have included debates in the television age, since John Kennedy shined against Richard Nixon in 1960. Being seen as the winner of the first debate hasn’t guaranteed a victory in November. But in nine of the 11, it shaped the trajectory of the campaign that followed.
They typically have had the most impact when an incumbent president isn’t running, and when a candidate comes in with something to prove, and when the contest is close and fluid. That is, in a campaign like this one.
First debates are powerful because it’s a time when some voters begin to pay close attention. At an hour-and-a-half, the conversation is more extended and more grueling than any 30-second hour or 10-minute interview.
Ninety minutes is a long time. So is four years.
“I have a feeling by the end of this evening, I’m going to be blamed for everything.” Hillary Clinton “Why not?” Donald Trump