The debates didn't change my mind, and I doubt that they converted any "true believers" of either side. Once our opinions are formed, we *all* have a great capacity to forgive our candidate and magnify the missteps of the other.
I'm not a fan of either candidate. More-so than any other election I've seen, this comes down to the lesser of two bad options. In previous elections, I've had opinions about the political stances of the candidates, but never their competency. The debate just reinforced my opinion that Trump is emotionally and temperamentally unfit for the presidency. Honestly, Trump is now...and has always been...a high school bully at heart. Nothing he can say in the next few debates can change his basic nature.
Has Hillary lied? Yes, and I'm very uncomfortable with that. I don't buy into the "jail Hillary" movement, but she's made some poor ethical choices for her own ends and "spun" the truth.
Has Trump lied? Yes...and the worst part is he probably believes himself when he says he hasn't. He shoots from the hip and exposes his true feelings. People like him for that. But when those statements come back to bite him, he says he was just joking...or never said them at all. Come on folks, are your memories that short?
Here's one to remember: in the debate, Trump bragged that he didn't pay any taxes because he's smart. That means as taxpayers, shouldering the burden of our national debt, he just called the rest of us stupid. Way to go Donald, insult your potential supporters.
Trump's biggest asset is that he knows about money. We hope (he wants us to believe) that he will apply that expertise to our economy. Maybe he will, but more likely, he'll just line his own pockets like he has in the past. In the debate, he danced around it, but admitted that he had stiffed thousands of contractors, but that it was legal.
Trump diverted questions about his tax returns by saying that he would reveal them when Hillary turned over her emails. Fail. This isn't about Hillary...it's about the *public's* need to know. It's about Donald doing something that every candidate in the past 50 years has done. Yeah, I want to see Hillary disclose her emails, but that has nothing to do with Trump's taxes....just another way he weasels out of disclosing his finances. His *apparent* wealth and financial success are his main qualifications for the job....and he won't disclose the documents that would verify this?
Even if we buy into Trump's financial prowess, that makes him a one-trick-pony. In the debate he demonstrated his lack of grasp with the constitution and most other aspects of the position of president....most importantly, the ability to debate coherently and find common ground with political opponents.
Just in general, I watched Hillary stay on topic, while Trump rambled and sniffed. Hardly presidential. The "smug" smile that Hillary displayed was just a mask to deflect all the bullying. In the split screen, Trump made all the typical school yard bully faces. Very undignified and not presidential.
While the debate didn't change my mind, it made me more comfortable with my choice to vote for the least distasteful: Hillary.