Hillary trumps Donald in the debate - but does it matter?

The jury is still out on who won the debate here, but the punditocracy in the United States seems fairly unanimous. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton crushed Donald J. Trump, the Republican candidate.

It's really late into the night in Atlanta here [when the writer penned the article], so we can't really know what American voters think yet. In a few days, polls will give us a better sense of that. If past experience is any guide, we could be in for a shock. This certainly won't be the first time US media pundits have had egg all over their face.

I am going to stick my neck out and say it aloud: I think Hillary won hands down, and Trump was quite appalling. Full disclosure is in order here: I am a proud left-liberal supporter of the Democratic Party, but I also like to believe that I can step back and judge people and issues on its merits.

After living in the US for over two decades, I have never seen a presidential candidate quite like Trump. Politicians are often economical with the truth, but Trump's brazen mendacity has made US media do something unprecedented. – they are calling a presidential candidate a liar. The New York Times has done it, The Los Angeles Times has done it, so has The Washington Post.

Trump has brought political dishonesty to a new low. His style is the bright, shining lie. In the debate, for instance, he flatly denied a fact well established by the media – the fact that he had supported the US war against Iraq. 

There are so many other ways in which he comes up short. It's hard to think of a presidential candidate who is as clueless as Trump. Not only is he clueless, but he is also clueless about the fact that he is clueless! 

In the debate, Trump held his own initially, particularly when he was able to articulate his vision of economic populism.

But as the debate progressed, and particularly when it turned to national security and foreign policy, Trump completely lost it. Frequently spouting nonsense, often irascible and ill-tempered, he said things that must have made Republican policy experts wince. Hillary, in contrast, was what she always is – poised, unflappable, with a formidable command of policy.

Towards the end of the debate, Trump made a claim so ludicrous that the audience couldn't help laughing with Hillary. Trump said – honestly, can a person be so detached from reality? – that he believed his temperament was a huge positive. Then he went on to demonstrate just how wrong he was by behaving like a schoolyard bully rather than a seasoned statesman.

Sadly, none of this may matter. Trump as a candidate is bad enough, but in my opinion, the far greater disgrace is how close this election is. In the most recent polls, the race is too close to call.

You have to wonder. What's wrong with the American people?

Several factors are at work here. The mean-spirited rightwing media, led by Fox News, has created an ugly culture of demonising Democrats. Take the case of US President Barack Obama. This thoughtful, unfailingly dignified left-of-centre president with a gentle, cerebral demeanour has been reviled as a Kenyan, closet communist, America hater, you name it. The Clintons have been getting the same treatment for many decades. 

Which is not to say that the Clintons are purer than the driven snow. There is indeed something sleazy about their foundation. But if you judge a presidential candidate by knowledge, gravitas, and command of policy, Hillary Clinton will be spectacular as the first woman president of the US, just as Obama is as the first African American president.

Unfortunately, the US electorate has become so polarised that competence no longer matters. Political scholar Norman Ornstein says that the Republican Party has gone off the deep end, with intolerant radicals taking over the party. They see any kind of compromise as a betrayal – a sure recipe for permanent gridlock in a country that's divided into Democrats and Republicans.

One mustn't overrate the impact of debates. In the last election, Obama faltered against Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the first debate, but recovered and went on to win the re-election comfortably.

My gut feeling remains unchanged. This race is Hillary's to lose. I'll even go out on a limb and say that although it will be a close race, Hillary will win. But hold on to your seats, because it's going to be one heck of a ride.

The writer is a contributing editor for Siliconeer, a monthly periodical for South Asians in the United States. He has been writing for US-based South Asian media for over 25 years.