I hope Hillary doesn't make the same mistake as Gore did

[Onlooker]

When Gore ran for President, he was surrounded by all these political experts who had him push words like "scheme" and "lockbox" in his debates. It came off as so calculated, unnatural and contrived it was at times cringeworthy. The only thing that Trump has over Clinton is that he doesn't appear calculated. He comes across as a guy who says what's on his mind, and no consultant, expert, psychologist, or pundit is going to advise him. Of course, that's only partly true. While much of what he says is unfiltered, the fact is that he has been sticking to a teleprompter a lot more lately, so his authenticity maybe is waning.

I just hope that Hillary is herself. She'll be attacked no matter what, so she should just let the real Hillary show through, and she should say what's on her mind. If Trump is a jerk, she shouldn't resort to some contrived carefully packaged turn of phrase (unless it's really natural and she can say it that way), she should handle Trump like she would handle another other child, either ignore him or tell him to behave in language as forceful as necessary. If Trump wants to waste his time talking about nonsense, she should be herself and talk about what's important to her. But, she shouldn't worry about trying to convince the academics and experts; she should talk to people who vote for the person even more than they vote on the issues.

Trump has told America how he feels. Hillary has told America how she thinks. But, now I think Hillary should talk to those who are more interested in the person than the ideology. From what I have read, in private Hillary is a very nice person. She has nothing to lose by being herself. It will help people identify with her.

[RBInMaine]

1. Never, ever, ever "Ignore" the opponent. Get on OFFENSE and STAY on OFFENSE. Period.

[riversedge]

2. Hillary is and has always been a policy wonk with all the words that enjoins. It is who she

is and if she stays that mode tomorrow night, then that is fine with me. But she also has a sense of humor and I trust that will show through also.

[BootinUp]

3. Looking forward to a Hillary laugh or two or three.

[Hortensis]

6. Exactly. Onlooker, it was the press who took Gore down,

not his use of complete sentences. If they want to attack, they will, and just represent whatever they're given as a loss.

[BootinUp]

10. They (media) wanted conservative compassionate tax breaks.

[Hortensis]

11. Surely you don't think those executives and owners

who would never interfere with the editorial process...interfere? BootinUp, you need more faith in humanity.

[LyndaG]

4. yes

NO sighing or eyerolling. No matter how outrageous or silly the comments, Hillary must remain Presidential.

[Democat]

8. There are times when an eyeroll might be the presidential thing to do

Depending on how stupid Trump is acting.

[LyndaG]

9. But, if you'll remember, the Press savaged Gore for doing that sort of thing.

[randome]

12. A well-placed face-palm can win the day.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[randome]

5. Forget about all that. What if she coughs or fails to smile a lot?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[unblock]

7. gore made a mistake they way the victim of a cheat made a mistake.

calculated? with any reasonable media coverage, gore's behavior would have been characterized as sober, rational, well-thought out and well-communicated. the "lockbox" thing would have been portrayed as a convincing promise that social security funds would only be used for social security and not, as others feared, for the general fund.

but the media decided to create an anti-gore narrative based on trivia like, oh, he sighed! can't have a president who sighs!

gore walked over to shrub, shrub turned around, saw the taller gore and leaped in the air like a scared cat! gore's walking over to highlight the fact that he was taller was widely expected and a standard debate move for the taller candidate. the media saw fit to cover this as entirely routine and expected before the debate, but after the debate and shrub's decidedly non-alpha male and highly un-presidential reaction, they decided that gore was some kind of obnoxious bully to have done this to poor little shrub.

it was pretty obvious that the media was going to find something in gore's performance to fault him for no matter what he had done; meanwhile, shrub got a free pass for his own terrible performances.

it's been obvious for years that the media coverage of debates is not remotely objective.