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Opinion: Amusement meter rises after first Clinton-Trump debate

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Well that was entertaining.

The first debate is under the belt of this presidential election, and with about a month left, the entertainment factor continues to outshine the substance.

Sorry, I don’t want entertainment with my politics. But it’s here by the truckload.

Even ABC’s intro of the debate made it a spectacle, more suited for a marquee matchup on Monday Night Football.

The easy thing is to pick apart the dialogue – if I can call it that.

We all have our opinions of what’s wrong with the candidates.

Hillary Clinton holds her nose high and jabs with intellectual snobbery. And oh, the smirks.

Donald Trump makes pompous remarks and spews outlandish attacks. And oh, the squints.

The next easiest thing is to pick the winner. It should come as little surprise that Hillary Clinton won the debate. She was clearly the polished and prepared political machine running calmly and consistently over the brash, confusing diatribes.

I’m taking issue with certain media. There’s just been enough times I’ve seen either the media unknowingly played by a candidate or the media clearly playing into the hands of a candidate. And it makes my heart sink and my head concerned for a popularity-driven, entertainment-hungry population.

I’m sad to say Lester Holt is a case in point. I’m looking for balance from the moderator, so I can get quality answers on key issues. He disappointed. Where’s Jim Lehrer when you need him?

No doubt Holt had the worst job on the planet that night. But it is his job.

And here’s his job description from the Commission on Presidential Debates: “to be a facilitator – to raise the issues and draw out the candidates and hopefully get them to interact themselves,” co-chairman Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. told The New York Times for an article, “A Moment of Truth for Presidential Debate Moderators,” published the day before the first Clinton-Trump debate.

Fahrenkopf explained the role further, differentiating it from a news program, where “you’ve got your notes of what so-and-so said: ‘Governor, you said this three weeks ago and now you’re changing the story.’ That’s an interview, not what’s supposed to happen in a debate.”

That’s the problem: Holt facilitated a debate with Clinton and interviewed Trump during a debate.

I don’t care if it was Hillary or Peter Pan. Balance the fact checking, Mr. Moderator. Certainly Trump is much easier to poke holes in and his audacious claims need shot down. But Holt did not touch even the low-hanging fruit for Clinton – the deleted emails, Benghazi or the Clinton Foundation scandal. Surely at least the 10-20 percent of undecided or third-party voters in America would consider those on equal levels as tax returns and “birther” issues.

The emails did get brought up. By Trump: “I will release tax returns when she releases her 33,000 emails she deleted.”

Holt, the moderator, simply chimed: “Do you want to respond to that?”

Meanwhile, Twitter was on fire. Search #Debates2016.

One tweet, by Patton Oswalt, sums it up to me: “Hillary is smiling at Lester the way a woman smiles at her circle of friends while a wannabe-alpha flexes at the bar.”

That’s another problem. Hillary plays the media as her friends and the incoherency of Donald at times has caused the media to cozy up to her.

It’s an infuriating quandary.

Have you seen Clinton’s appearance on “Between Two Ferns,” with Zach Galifianakis? The comedian hosts celebrity guests and roasts them in light-hearted interviews.

Some in the media called Clinton’s appearance a risky and bold move. Nonsense. Watch it. It was a brilliant play to connect with the popular, mainstream audience. And Galifianakis led the way.

The subtexts of his barbs actually poked fun at Clinton critics with a holier-than-thou humor. It reeked like a complete setup, although producers say the questions weren’t shared beforehand.

On her reversal to support Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership, he asks, “Are you down with TPP?”

Clinton: “I’m not down with TPP.”

Galifianakis: “No, you’re supposed to say, ‘Yeah, you know me.’”

Clinton: “Don’t tell me what to say.”

Galifianakis: “Fine, lose. (muttering) Country goes to s---.”

See? Funny. And snarky.

It amounts to another point in the media.

Clinton’s camp actually initiated the interview, according to Politico. A few days later, Galifianakis said Trump would not be a guest because he’s “mentally challenged.”

Here’s a point Trump actually speaks coherently about.

“Frankly, I think the best person in her campaign is mainstream media,” he said at one point in the debate.

Seriously, though, Holt’s criticism is minor compared to CNN’s Twitter feed. It was Trump-bashing and Clinton-praising – not even clouded in journalistic integrity. The shoulder-shimmy GIFs play to what some might call cute confidence, but it’s not the content for a reputable news outlet. CNN, leave that stuff to People.

Similarly, Fox News posted favorable clips of the Trump-zingers. But we expect that.

Then again how do journalists keep up with it all? This is unprecedented gibberish, and don’t think I’m just talking about the Trump camp.

While Donald spews, Hillary manipulates.

She’s a career politician, as professional and calculated as they come – and she’s learned from the best, from her husband. To be sure, she’s put in hard, smart work.

What’s most important is the way you win, the character you exhibit.

If we look close enough, we can see through it all. There’s an actor in each candidate.

Hillary playing Miss Innocent and always under attack but attacking in her own passive-aggressive eye rolls, snobbish grins and sarcasms.

Donald playing the big-boss businessman who’s never made a bad deal but lying through his squinty eyes, pursed lips and hand gestures. To be sure, he’s handled a lot of money. I’m just not sure how that translates to president.

It’s a character issue for me: what one does when nobody’s watching. And that’s what makes this a seemingly impossible election.

So the first debate’s over and we still have so far to go. While watching it with our children, I overheard, “I think Bernie Sanders is going to win.” From a 7-year-old, who knew what she was doing.

Now, that’s quality entertainment.

Springfield Business Journal Editor Eric Olson can be reached at eolson@sbj.net.

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