Often sequels are just a shadow of the original, but Trump/Clinton II certainly broke that mold. All that was missing was the steel cage and an eye gouge or two.  More thoroughly entertained I could not have been.  This battle had it all…sex, survival, suspense, accusations, mind games…did I mention sex?  The Donald, ever the showman, arranges a pre-game powwow with a few of Bubba’s past, shall we say, “less than willing” conquests and the gullible media…followed by the parade of paramours marching to their primo front row seats (surely obtained without the help of Stub Hub).  I’ll bet the millennials, too young to REALLY know the Clinton’s, were burning up their iPads googling “Bill Clinton’s Broken Zipper.” They certainly weren’t going to hear those salacious details from the mainstream media.

Let’s face it…after the release of that video showing The Donald talking like a horny middle-schooler 11 years ago to Billy Bush (yes, a relation to THAT Bush family), his campaign had one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.  I couldn’t bring myself to write a whole dissertation on that issue, but let me just briefly give my thoughts since it played such a significant part in the debate.  The comments are abhorrent and cannot be defended…period. But was there one person REALLY surprised by this revelation?  Probably not.  Had a guy like Mike Pence said these things, then yeah, a shock like a lightning bolt, 100% out of character.  But Donald?  Yaaaaaawwwnnn.  People can run around with their hair on fire and be all offended…but my perspective is twofold:  1)  As distasteful as it is, many guys talk similarly in private conversations with other guys…locker rooms, bars, golf course…meaningless trash talk… but on steroids in this case, coming from a flamboyant billionaire.  Again, not defending it one iota, just stating a fact.  2) Who among us has not had many, many private conversations that would highly embarrass us if they were released to the world?  In that light, I’m choosing not to be too judgmental.  In my heart of hearts, I believe we’re losing the country, and we are now presented with a binary choice.  Hey, I voted for Marco Rubio in my state primary, but he didn’t get the nomination, did he?  So like it or not, Trump is the guy, and given the stakes, I really don’t have the inclination or the patience to give a damn about his vulgarity, that nonsensical 11 year old video, or anything else that I deem a distraction.  And it always seems to go right back to hypocrisy, doesn’t it?  The faux outrage and holier-than-thou attitude of the Clinton campaign, her supporters, and the media is just that…phony, political, and completely laughable.  The moral high ground upon which these liberal elitists pontificate is nothing more than a mirage.  Personally, I’m WAY more outraged by Clinton calling Trump supporters deplorable and irredeemable, Bubba calling them rednecks at a recent rally, and the highest levels of her campaign trashing and mocking people of faith (latest wikileak revelation).  Not even close in my mind.  However, the effects of this video are real, and Trump the Showman needed to give the performance of a lifetime to simply live to fight another day.  And in my estimation, he did just that…and then some.

Unlike in the first debate, Trump was on offense for most of this one, and WAY more nimble. He was masterful in giving short answers to the broken record of attacks, and then pivoting to the 25 years worth of Hillary’s scandals and failures.  He pummeled her and wiped that smug arrogant grin right off her face with the beloved Greatest Hits…all together now…E-Mails, private servers, gross mishandling of classified information, enabling Bill’s philandering and destroying the women involved, disastrous tenure as Secretary of State, Benghazi…and the countless, documented lies she’s regurgitated about all of it.  If this verbal assault was actual jabs and hooks, her and her bloody pantsuit would be face down on the canvas in a crumpled mess.  And for good measure, Donald smacked her with the latest pre-debate Wikileaks release…parts of the transcripts from her paid speeches to the big banks, where she talked about dreaming of open borders, having a public AND private position on issues, etc.  The quacks in the mainstream media used the Trump video as a firewall in an effort to shield her from these damaging revelations, so Trump had to play junior journalist and do their jobs for them.  And when they actually did broach a few substantive issues…Obamacare, economy, jobs, taxes, national security…it was child’s play for Trump as Hillary could do nothing more than try to defend all of the failed Obama policies that she has wrapped herself up in.  To be sure, Obama and Clinton are the Ebony and Ivory of policy positions.

While most of the media talking heads agreed that Trump did what he needed to ensure the survival of his campaign, many did not see it as the total smackdown that I did.  So predictable that the Trump haters in the media downplayed his dominating performance…even including Fox News, who possess their own bevy of Never Trumpers.  He skillfully and methodically prosecuted the case again Hillary that the “in the tank” frauds in the media refuse to do.  As for the moderators…well, same old, same old.  Clearly favored The Hildabeast in terms of interruptions, real time fact checking, etc.   Worst moment was Martha Raddatz of ABC actively debating Trump on Syria.  Not your job, Martha.  She was heavily criticized for that…and rightly so.

I’ll close with my three favorite debate moments…1)  When Hillary attempted to weasel out of her “public & private position” comment, Trump says, “She got caught in a total lie… And now she’s blaming the lie on the late great Abraham Lincoln… Honest Abe never lied. That’s the big difference between Abraham Lincoln and you.”  2)  After Trump threatens to have her e-mail case looked into further if he’s elected, Clinton responds, “It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.”  To which The Donald retorts, “Because you’d be in jail.”  Absolute gold.  3)  During the debate, a fly landed squarely between the eyes of Hillary Clinton.  And we all know what flies are drawn to.  Just sayin’.