Trump over Hillary? Maybe

I managed to catch some of the second US Presidential Debate on television a couple of days back. Frankly, we have no reason to condone the tricks and antics of politicians in our part of the world. Politics is the same the world over and America is no less rotten to the core.

The Clinton-Trump (I call it ‘Clump’) war of words was an embarrassingly bad circus. It was merely about knocking each other’s ugly skeletons out of the closet. The backyard scraping was deplorable. Even Jerry Springer must have had a complex to see the enormous garbage quotient in the squalid spectacle between the two candidates ferociously sniping at each other to helm the world’s biggest superpower.

It was baffling that absolutely nothing about the debate was constructive. Nothing about economy, health, employment, taxes. I’m guessing (and hoping) that that’s what the Americans would have liked to watch. Instead, what they had to witness was a venomous hitting-below-the-bucklefest devoid of fact, substance and class. It is unfortunate when votes have to be solicited on the basis of how much mud can be stuck on the other’s dodgy and tarnished facade.

Trump took with him to the debate the four women whom Bill Clinton had sexually harassed. They sat in the first row, a few feet away from Hillary and Bill. I don’t think politics has been more ugly and toxic than this. When Hillary went after Trump for his sex tapes, he snarled back at her about these women: “Mine were words, his were actions.”

On the other hand, Trump’s suggestion that he would get Hillary jailed if he became President, was worrying for many who viewed him as an authoritarian threat and quasi dictator of sorts.

I am often asked to indicate my preference. It’s hard. Many prefer Hillary by default only because they don’t want to see Trump make it to the White House. But then again Hillary has failed to lay out a positive and compelling case for Presidency. She isn’t a hit among the 18-34-year-olds. In the second debate, she held her own but didn’t seem as comfortable and dominant as she was in the first debate. With Trump, for all his arrogance, political incorrectness and improprieties, at least you get what you see. I find that more comforting, relatively speaking.

That said, right now I’d be worried if I were an American. Voting for one of the two is choosing between the devil and the deep sea. Trump stands for change. Hillary stands for more of the same. Both could be for the better or worse. It’s incredibly frightening that these two are the best that the US has to offer. They make Putin look like a choirboy.

Ask me honestly — I’d vote for the audacious fly that landed on Hillary’s face. 

Tailpieces

1) 67-year-old Richard Gere’s new girlfriend, the 33-year old Alejandra Silva, says it wasn’t stardom that drew her to him, but karma (they’re Buddhists). I’m sure Gere’s $100 million fortune helps too.

2) Khloe Kardashian says her sister (Kim) isn’t doing well after the Paris heist. She adds that the family is re-evaluating their social media presence after the “traumatic incident.” The consequences of a false police report and false insurance claim might well be traumatic.

3) Fawad Khan’s and Mahira Khan’s emotional statements on terror haven’t assuaged anger, with many expecting them to take a concrete stand. Easy to lampoon their diplomacy but if one were to put oneself in their shoes for a minute — sitting on the fence is the only option left when you want a career in both the countries.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2016.

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