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By Britt Nelson
Facebook meme.
Voters in the United States of America have a choice to make on Nov. 8. Red, Blue, Green and Libertarian are among the choices in almost all states.
Republican Donald Trump promises to shaking up establishment politics in Washington, DC by electing, and Democrat Hillary Clinton appears to be a choice for extending President Obama’s legacy for a third-term.
Wednesday night’s third and final Clinton-Trump debate in Las Vegas was contentious to say the least. It’s clear that Trump and Clinton do not like or respect each other. They did not shake hands before or after the debate.
By the time it was over debate viewers witnessed first hand the personality and style of Trump, who wants changes in government policies, and Clinton, who is sure to be immersed in the continuing gridlock between the Executive Branch of the federal government and the U.S. Congress if she is elected.
Questions during the debate centered on six main topics: national debt, entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, immigration, the economy, the U.S. Supreme Court, foreign hot spots, and fitness to be president.
But another subject is getting the most attention following the debate.
Trump is being highly criticized for not stating during the debate that he would accept the election results if he loses the race without claiming it was “rigged” against him. Virtually all of mainstream media on Thursday morning was hammering the New York billionaire on his refusal to say he would accept the results without contesting them.
“You know, every time Donald thinks things are not going in his direction, he claims whatever it is is rigged against him,” Clinton said during the debate.
Debate moderator Chris Wallace, anchor of Fox News Sunday, asked Trump if would concede the election to Clinton following a long-standing tradition for the losing candidate to accept the loss with a concession speech and unite behind the winner.
“I will look at it at the time,” Trump commented. “I’m not looking at anything right now … I’ll keep you in suspense.”
Both Trump and Clinton gave good performances during the debate and each candidate goes home knowing they left favorable impressions with their respective supporters, but did either one really change any minds or win over new voters? That’s doubtful.
Polls show that only about five percent of all registered voters remain undecided, according to Real Clear Politics. Polls also show Clinton is ahead of Trump by six percentage points in a nationwide 4-way matchup with Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Combined, Johnson and Stein are polling at about 10 percent nationally, but this 10 percent may have a big impact on the final outcome of the race.
Trump left Nevada for Ohio where he is holding a political rally Thursday in the town of Delaware at the Delaware County Fair. Clinton had no scheduled events on Thursday, but on Friday she, too, will be in Cleveland, Ohio. Why Ohio?
No presidential candidate in recent memory has won the presidency without winning Ohio.
Right now Trump is winning in Ohio slightly with a 0.7 percentage point advantage, according to Real Clear Politics poll averaging. Trump is ahead of Clinton in two Ohio polls by as much as four points, tied with Clinton in one poll and Clinton is ahead of Trump by two points in another poll.
After Ohio both Trump and Clinton will be holding rallies in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, according to both candidates’ websites.
Trump is not about to concede anything at this point and anything can happen by the time the national general election rolls around on Nov. 8. During the debate, Clinton showed she is tough and can handle difficult situations.
As Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti said, “One is never afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.”
Enough said.
About the Author
Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.
Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.
