Trump Wins 2nd Presidential Debate By Forcefully Changing Narrative

The 2nd Presidential Debate had affects on all of the senses. During the 90 minutes, we felt the tension between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. We smelled the stench of nasty attacks. We tasted no humility from either side. We heard talk about sexual assault and acid-washed servers.

But possibly most interesting, we saw a fly land on Hillary Clinton's eyebrow.

The fly brought a small bit of humor to the otherwise utterly caustic debate. But as I watched the debate, the fly stuck to my mind. In my twisted mind (a mind tainted by years of watching politics), I saw the fly as a symbol.

Just as the fly took our minds off of the mud-slinging (it wasn't really mud-slinging, as it was actually napalm-throwing) on the stage, Donald Trump was able to, at least for the majority of the debate, take our minds off of the hot microphone scandal that has rocked his campaign.

Trump Goes All Out In Attacks On Hillary's Emails

I don't think that Trump could have deflected questions about the video scandal any better. What would have usually hurt him, his penchant for not answering questions directly, worked to his favor on Sunday. Each time he addressed the hot mic moment, he successfully weaved in an attack on Hillary. With his usual bluster, he forcefully changed the debate's narrative to an indictment of Hillary Clinton.

He did go on to vigorously throw punches at Bill Clinton, which, as I put forth in my previous article, I think is a mistake. But he didn't dwell on the former President's improprieties. He went on to a much better strategy, going hard after Hillary Clinton on the WikiLeaks and email controversies.

Trump was roundly criticized for not spending enough time pounding the email issue in the first debate. He certainly made up for lost time on Sunday. The Trumpster, for the first time in these head-to-head debates, put Clinton on the defensive.

Possibly the best moment for Trump during the debate came after Martha Raddatz asked Clinton about her speeches to Wall Street executives. When addressing her comment about having a private position and a public position, Clinton gave a convoluted answer about how President Abraham Lincoln was the first to have different public and private positions on issues, and how it supposedly shows leadership. Trump gave a brilliant response:

"She lied, 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.”

That moment made Clinton look foolish and desperate. It was just one of many moments where Trump used his wit to hurt Clinton. On his sharp jabs and witty comebacks alone, Trump likely, and somewhat amazingly, won this debate.

Duct Tape Likely Can't Save USS Trump, But Stranger Things Have Happened

Trump's debate "win" doesn't mean that the video issue is going to go away. On the contrary, the Trump campaign is still in a mess. The words that Trump used in that video will continue to stick in voters' minds, and it may be impossible for Trump to win back the support he has lost.

Also, although I believe Trump won the debate, he did have some rough moments. He still lacks substance on key issues, and he made some wild, barely competent comments about Syria and Iraq that once again raise questions about his foreign policy ideas.

However, The Donald's campaign underwent some blood coagulation tonight. It may at least prevent further un-endorsements from fellow Republicans and help some down-ballot conservatives.

I am sticking to my belief, though, that Donald Trump can not win this election. But I will at least admit that stranger things have happened, and I may be wrong. It is true that Mr. Trump has surprised me before. After all, he did write the book The Art of the Comeback.

We have almost a full month's worth of madness left to endure. Let's hunker down and see what may come next during this wild election season.

The Final Blow: Analysis And Ramifications Of Donald Trump's Lewd Video

On Friday, a monumental piece of news broke, and it was supposed to send the 2016 election into more of a frenzy than ever before. WikiLeaks released transcripts of many of Hillary Clinton's speeches to Wall Street executives. They put Clinton's ambivalence with her ideas in the spotlight, showing her flip-flops on trade and open borders. This could have been viewed as a gift for the Trump campaign.

But just before WikiLeaks released the documents, Clinton's camp received possibly the largest present in political history: a video that essentially has undone Donald Trump's campaign. The video, which gives audio of Donald Trump having a sexually aggressive, utterly disgusting conversation with former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, was originally filmed in 2005. It has created a ripple effect, causing many prominent Republicans to either rescind their endorsement of Trump or call on him to drop out of the race.

There's no doubt that the USS Trump is sinking. How did Republicans not see the iceberg coming? Can Mike Pence take over as captain? How many Republicans up for re-election can huddle in the weak lifeboats trying to get to shore?

The Republican Party Should Have Seen This Coming

It has always been an open secret about Trump's cavalier attitude toward women. As a prominent New York socialite, Trump has reportedly bragged about his sexual escapades and adultery for years. Many may remember Trump's scandal in the 1990s when he was cheating on his wife, Ivana Trump, with Marla Maples.

In other words, if you thought that Trump was flawless saint sent from above before yesterday, you have been hiding under a rock. The thing that makes the video stand out is that it is the first time we have auditory proof of his complete raunchiness.

I wonder if this is what Ted Cruz meant when he talked about Trump's "New York values" during the primary season. By no means am I saying that New Yorkers lack moral character. I am saying that this type of talk and behavior is common among the rich and famous in New York City. This is not conjecture, it's fact. This is how tabloid papers stay in business.

When the Republican Party nominated Donald Trump, they should have known they were going to have to contend with Trump's Hollywood-flavored scandals. Republican primary voters, however, put their concerns about Trump's behavior to the side because of their passionate want for an upheaval in Washington. That passion blinded many from supporting much safer, more qualified candidates.

Trump and his campaign showed that they knew this was a serious situation when he issued his first apology of the campaign (possibly in his lifetime) in response. Trump was clearly reading a teleprompter during his on-camera response, and it didn't look particularly smooth.  The worst part about Trump's apology was his mentioning of Bill Clinton's scandals:

"I’ve said some foolish things, but there is a big difference between words and actions. Bill Clinton has actually abused women and Hillary has bullied, attacked, shamed and intimidated his victims. We will discuss this more in the coming days."

Yes, even many Democrats admit that Bill Clinton committed these acts. But it sounds like Donald Trump is trying to justify his sins by another man's sins. This proves that Trump still doesn't get why so many people do not like him. Why does there always have to be blaming and criticizing? It would have done Trump a lot of good just to focus on himself, delving further into how foolish he was and that he will never engage in such vulgar talk again, in public or in private venues.

However, I am not going to sit here and criticize you if you are going to continue to support Trump. I respect the arguments of those who say we have a binary choice in this election. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, had this to say:

"This is far from an ideal situation, but it is the reality in which we find ourselves and as difficult as it is, I refuse to find sanctuary on the sidelines and allow the country and culture to deteriorate even further by continuing the policies of the last 8 years."

I completely understand and respect that logic. But the Political Chessboard is here to primarily provide political insight. And in this case, the presidential election is over if Donald Trump is at the top of the Republican ticket on November 8th.

The Murky Future For Republicans

About two dozen Republicans in Congress have issued statements saying that Trump should get out of the race and let Mike Pence take the top of the ticket. However, this is likely a pipe dream. We must understand how late it is in the process. With exactly a month to go before the polls close on Election Day, ballots have already been printed and some states have started early voting. Whether Republicans like it or not, they are stuck Donald Trump.

This doesn't mean that Republicans up for re-election aren't going to swim as far away from the drowning Trumpster as possible. Several vulnerable conservatives are already running for the hills.

Tight Senate races might be affected by Trump's improprieties. Senate races in Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Florida were starting to trend to the right, but the now infamous video may hurt Republican candidates.

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is locked in an uber-tight race against Gov. Maggie Hassan,  had the most intriguing dilemma. When recently asked if Trump was a role model for children, Ayotte answered in the affirmative. She has tried to walk that back in recent days, and after the Trump video came out yesterday, Ayotte decided to withdraw her support. She also says she will write in Mike Pence's name as her presidential choice. Ayotte was up in the polls about 1-2 points going into this week, but it remains to be seen how this madness affects her numbers.

In Florida, Rep. Patrick Murphy wrote an op-ed on The Hill calling on Sen. Marco Rubio to either take back his support of Trump or withdraw from his Senate re-election bid. This is another Senate race that could be affected by Trump's scandal.

The Road Ahead

As was said earlier, the Political Chessboard feels that the 2016 Presidential Race is essentially over. I just don't see how Trump can do anything to remedy his problems, whether it be in the debate on Sunday or in an interview. The damage to his candidacy has been done.

Control of the U.S. Senate now may hinge on how far Trump falls. Democrats could now be considered favored to win the Upper Chamber.

The point now is how sad this election truly is. Millions of voters now see this election as a battle between a sexist pig and a pathological liar, and millions more will simply stay home during this cycle. Regardless of the outcome on November 8th, it is clear that America as a whole has lost this election, with fractures that will be felt for years to come.