Debates are comprised of four components:  1) An Issue (normally posed as a question).  2) One person arguing in favor.  3) Another person arguing against.  4) both people answering the  questions (with time for rebuttal).

I watched last night’s Presidential debate and offer the following digest and end by grading the debaters as a college professor would.

Question: Is the Constitution to be interpreted as written by the authors, or is it a living, changeable document?

Answers: Trump: (As written). Clinton: (Living Document).

Question: Do you support the 2nd Amendment?

Answers: Clinton: (Yes, but under protest). Trump: (Yes).

Question: Should Rowe v. Wade be overturned?

Answers:  Clinton: (No).  Trump: (Yes).

Question: Are you for building a border wall? Should we deport illegal aliens? Why?

Answer:  Trump: (Yes on wall, to mitigate drug problem and influx of bad people. Deport bad people first. Decide on others later).

Answer: Clinton: ( No answer on wall. Only deport bad people. Don’t want to separate families).

Question to Clinton: Are you for open borders?

Answer: Clinton: (No answer. Instead draws Trump into a waste of 8 mins. in playground spat about Wikileaks, Russian email hacks and nukes).

Rebuttal: Trump: Included above.

Question: Should government play a large roll in the economy?

Answer: Clinton: (Yes. Gov’t should invest from the bottom up and middle out . Pay for college. Pay for training. Raise taxes on the rich.)

Answer: Trump: ( Yes. Allies and competing countries should be made to pay more. Fix or scrap NAFTA).

Question to Trump: Experts say your proposed economic plan can’t work. Your response?

Answer: No answer, just blather.

Rebuttal: None required. Instead, 6 minutes 15 seconds wasted including back and forth accusations on different topics..

Question to Trump: Why did women accuse you of touching and groping?

Answer: Trump: ( It’s fiction. Either they wanted fame or the Clinton’s “sleezy” campaign put them up to it). Later pivots to emails and lying.

Rebuttal: Clinton: (“…….That’s who Donald is…….”).

Question to Clinton: Did you avoid conflicts of interest regarding the “Clinton Foundation”, as you had promised?

Answer: Clinton: No answer. Touted “Clinton Foundation’s” work. 4 minutes 51 seconds wasted, including shouting matches.

Rebuttal: Trump: Included above.

Question to Trump: Will you accept the results of the election?

Answer: Trump: No answer. (“I will look at it at the time.”)

Rebuttal: Wasted time

Question: What happens after Mosul?

Answer: Clinton: (We will leave no occupying force. We will create safe havens. We cannot do anything in Syria while there is civil war. We will move into Syria to attack ISIS in Raqqa). The obvious question of, “Say what?”, was not asked.

Answer: Trump: (In the end, Iran will take over Iraq.)

Rebuttal: 3 minutes wasted in over-talking/ over-yelling each other on various subjects.

Question to Trump: You have said some things that are untrue, including that Aleppo has fallen………..(cut off by Trump multiple times).

Answer: Trump: (Aleppo has fallen.) Followed by 2 minutes of wasted time.

Question To Clinton:  Will you impose “no fly zones” against Obama’s and Gen. Dunford’s wishes to avoid war with Russia and Syria?

Answer: Clinton: (Yes, through negotiations. I will defeat ISIS) She pivoted to immigrant refugees and the Pulse nightclub…wasting time, noting that the Pulse shooter was born in Queens like Trump.

Rebuttal: Trump: 1 minute of wasted time.

Question: How will you solve the national debt?

Answer: Trump: (Take back jobs from overseas.)

Answer: Clinton: (Tax the wealthy and spend our way to prosperity).

Note: Both answers included a total of 5 minutes of wasted time.

Final Question: Why should we vote for you?

Answer: Clinton: (I will come down hard on corporations and raise wages). Again, the question, “Say what?”, was neglected.

Answer: Trump: (Don’t vote for Clinton).

DEBATE GRADES: No grades are possible. A childish, verbal slap-fight doesn’t constitute a debate.