Larry D. Lauer

What did you learn about either Trump or Clinton from Monday’s debate that you did not already know?

Television inevitably makes drama from reality. TV debates are no different. TV backgrounds become performance stages. Cameras are attracted to dramatic close-ups. Performances are carefully mapped and rehearsed. What you are seeing is television drama… and acting.

Trump is an experienced reality show actor. He has created drama with his foul and cruel mouth. He lies about facts, but does it dramatically. He has hidden his finances and then makes boisterous claims about his charitable giving. He admires with pleasure the leadership of a Russian dictator. He uses brash and bullying remarks at rallies to incite dramatic responses, which sometimes turn violent. He makes loud and outrageous claims about what he will do without any ideas about how. He is a reality show actor, the world is his stage, and win or lose a dramatic television debate setting tells us little about what he actually will do as president.

Clinton’s public personality has been shaped by controversies. She is a private person that in many ways is impossible for the public to read. She can be very secretive when threatened. She has refused to be transparent about her recent email controversy, which raises concerns about how forthcoming she will be in future crisis situations. She also can be highly political, and therefore could end up reinforcing the very legislative polarization that has this country currently divided. She rehearsed heavily for this television debate performance. With this in mind what did you actually learn about how she will make decisions as president?

If television news only follows the drama of future rallies and polls, and needed investigative work never gets done and visibly reported, we will be relegated to choosing our next president based on who we think will do the least harm.

Note: More to come about this in a few days…