I thought that DT did much better as far as temperament and he actually engaged on policy although with a lack of depth.  His response to the question about accepting the validity of the election was a moment that could hurt him.  HRC was her usual stone cold self, absolutely prepared and able to ward off attacks that could have upset her.  She scored on the question of what she had been doing for the past 30 years compared to Trump.  Overall I don't think DT gained any support and could have lost a bit from the ranks of the disgruntled Republicans.  It is possible that HRC could have gained a little from those who were still undecided assuming there are any of those left.  There was plenty of fodder for DT to hurl at HRC from the recent events but he failed to take advantage of that by using his time to defend his honor.  DTs campaign is in free fall and his only hope of salvaging a possible landslide is to be the biggest and meanest dog on the block.  I expect HRC to go high and let him bark.

Duterte as Trump

Duterte as Trump (Trump as Duterte)

In recent news Donald Trump is reported to be be planning a trip to China taking 400 leaders from the business world with him to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He says make money, not war. This after rebuffing President Obama's overtures to strengthen alliances between the Philippines and the United States that were to be a response to Chinese assertion of property rights over the South China Sea. OK. You probably realized that this wasn't making much sense because Donald Trump doesn't have anything to do with the Philippines or China as far as we know. He might. We just don't know. Check the National Enquirer.

Rodrigo Duterte is the President of the Philippines and an avowed hater, well, maybe just a severe disliker, of the United States due to some CIA incident that happened while he was governor of Mindanao. I just noticed that the resemblance to our own Donald Trump was remarkable. Duterte has browbeat his way into the Filipino equivalent of the White House using tactics very much like what Trump has campaigned on. He has launched a campaign of terror against drug users and traffickers with thousands of them reportedly having been killed. In response to criticism he barked that he “didn't give a s**t about human rights which puts him squarely in line with Trump's pronouncements of what law enforcement would look like after his election. Also, he has called President Obama some derogatory names that can get your butt kicked in these parts if used. But, even at that they are short of what Trump's supporters are calling him.

As a part of the pivot toward Asia that President Obama has desired the strengthening of alliances with many of the Pacific Rim countries was central to its accomplishment. Part of the reason is to act as a deterrent to imperialistic aims of the Chinese to assert dominance over the South China Sea which abuts American allies Japan, Korea, The Philippines and Vietnam and some other smaller nations including Taiwan which China regards as a renegade province. If superiority of the seas is accomplished in the South China Sea it leaves all of those countries subject to Chinese domination and military adventurism. Especially Taiwan with which we are treaty bound to render aid. Of course, with Trump as President he would probably insist that the United States get a check before rendering aid.

The Philippine Islands have been central to American operations in the South Pacific since the Spanish-American war rendered them subject to the United States. Even after WWII the Philippines hosted our armed forces with Naval bases and facilities for conducting surveillance flights over China. It has been the aim of the United States to reopen some bases that were closed and to project power to a greater extent in the South China Sea and other waters around Southeast Asia. Duterte has thrown a pipe wrench into those plans but the United States asserts that the people of the Philippines have a long standing relationship with the United States and will not allow that to happen. Duterte thinks otherwise and seeks to form alliances with the elephant in the region by sticking a finger in the eye of the nation that he has a serious dislike for. I know, you thought everyone loved us and wanted to be us but that may not always be true. After all, we did prop up a dictator in the country for decades before he was toppled by a democratic movement and people have a way of not forgetting stuff like that. Just ask the Iranians.

So, here we are in the most developed nation in the world, envied by all and enduring a campaign that has as a major party candidate a person that can be favorably compared to a butt kicking President of what we refer to as a third world country. The only thing keeping us from tumbling into a similar stew is the couple of centuries of adherence to the rule of law and not of men however appealing that might be so some. In less than a month we will begin the peaceful transition of power from one person to another just as we have done dozens of times. We can count on that but it does not have to be true. Words do matter and irresponsible allegations of rigged elections and massive voter fraud do little to preserve that peace and instead encourage violent extremism if the vote doesn't go as desired. That, in and of itself, is enough to disqualify one from any opportunity to wield power in the name of the United States of America. If that were the only fault one could possibly excuse Trump. No. One couldn't. That is enough.

Less than 3 weeks to go. Hang on. We can do it.

Hard Rain

Hard Rain

And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan

I know that I speak for most people when I say that I am weary of this Presidential campaign and anxiously await the remnants to pass.

I am amazed and dismayed at the number of people who have made the campaign of Donald Trump possible. I just was not aware there were that many people who approved of these kinds of actions and statements still around. Oh, our country has always had it's share of nativists (considering the plight of the original native Americans this may be an inaccurate characterization) but they were for the most part aware that the overt expression of their sympathies were unacceptable in most circles. Even the South has come to understand and acknowledge the deplorable nature of the offenses against those whose skin was a different color.

What this campaign has done is to provide a vehicle for those latent prejudices and give cover for them to be expressed publicly under the guise of political expression. They are still deplorable and they represent a step backwards on our march forward to realize what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.” Things that previously would have been a death knell for a political campaign have become acceptable to people who would before have never allowed those words in their houses. They would never have allowed their children to hear them. I have seen interviews on television with political correspondents who say they won't allow their children to view the debates for fear of unacceptable behavior. People who preach the love of Jesus on Sunday preach the hate of exclusion and fear the rest of the week. Aren't we told that Jesus loves us all? How long will it be before we can restore civility of any amount to political discourse?

To be sure, there are actual issues in this campaign. They are numerous but only one candidate is talking about them. Well, three if you consider the few direct policy statements of Mr. Johnson and Ms. Stein. Mr. Trump never proposes policy, he just rails against whomever speaks ill of him. He promises change but fails to say what kind. He says our jobs have fled and says he will begin trade wars to bring them back. The facts do not support that. Yes, jobs have gone overseas but manufacturing is up. The repetitive jobs that used to be done on the assembly line are now done by robots and will not return in any case. Diplomacy has, to a large degree, kept our armed forces from being put in harm's way even if we still engage in foreign wars from which we seem to be unable to extract ourselves. Radical terrorism can't be defeated on the battlefield because it is not a state or country or person. It is an idea and one that we feed by continuing to be at war with people who can say we are enemies of their faith. Mr. Trump says that he will bomb the s**t out of them on national television but aren't we already doing that? His is a campaign of anger unable and unwilling to engage in debates of substance because he doesn't have a clue what he will do if he attains the office of the most powerful person in the world. I ask you to consider what would happen if he orders the military to take some dreadful action and the military realizes the insanity of that order and refuses to obey which surely some would. It would precipitate a constitutional crisis the likes of which we have never seen.

I have watched the career of Hillary Clinton ever since she showed up with Bill in 1991 I suppose. That is 35 years of me and a whole lot of other people paying attention to her every move. Why? Simply because she has done a lot of stuff. Senator from New York for 8 years, candidate for the Presidency in 2008 and she filled the role of Secretary of State when President Obama, who defeated her in the primaries, asked her to commit to that national service. Now she has spent the recent years preparing for another run at the Presidency. Stamina? Are you kidding me? The woman has more stamina than a marathon runner. But as a result of all that national service she has a long record of public performance to examine. I haven't always been pleased with her actions. She is a bit too militaristic to suit me and too chummy with Wall Street. But she is still the most qualified person to stand for the Presidency in my lifetime. I am confident that she will do some things that irritate me, maybe even make me angry. If she does I'll use this space to let you know. Right now there are some issues that need to be settled.

She has a history of being able to work across the aisle to get results. That means she is going to tick some hard core liberals off. Such is the price of compromise and governing. What matters is that she continues the demanding work of staying on course to a more equal and progressive future. In this neck of the woods that is looked upon with disfavor but you might be surprised at how attitudes are changing. We need to reach a balance with Russia and China in order that we can devote our energies to rebuilding our infrastructure. It is critical that we be more aggressive in developing green energy before China or Germany does and then sell it to the world. Climate change is the invisible elephant that has the potential to unsettle governments and societies all over the world and we have already wasted the time that we could have acted without too much pain. The pain is going to come and we must have a population and government ready to deal with it.

I have no illusions that Hillary Clinton will carry Pulaski County or even the state of Kentucky but that is to our detriment. Recent events have clarified the choice. Compare the Republican candidate with any President in your memory and he is not in that class.

My Take is we are less than a month away from a momentous election. One that Mr. Trump is already claiming to be rigged but you know better. You really do.