Who Won The First Debate?

Last night, at Hofstra University, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton met in the first of three 2016 presidential debates. No one won. Why? Because Hillary Clinton is effectively running unopposed for the Presidency of the United States, and one rational choice does not a democracy make. Mrs. Clinton’s opponent is a zombie candidate, dead flesh kept animate by coded bigotry and cultural atavism. Whatever relative success his campaign has enjoyed is a testament solely to the broken American electoral system, a democratic process so hobbled by entropy it may as well be divine right. A man who peddles conspiracies amid boasts of tax evasion doesn’t deserve to stand on a soapbox in a sanatorium, much less on the stage of a presidential debate. Last night, in lieu of an exchange of ideas, a viable presidential candidate addressed an empty podium for ninety minutes. Declaring a winner presupposes that a competition took place. The 2016 Presidential Election isn’t a choice between lesser evils. It isn’t a choice at all.

At the same time, my girlfriend did bake a very delicious artichoke and shallot dip!