Mitch Perry
Donald Trump enjoyed mocking Hillary Clinton earlier this week for all the time she’s taken off the campaign trail recently, but with all three debates now history, it’s clear she knew exactly she was doing — working to be totally prepared for these debates.
I know folks like to lower the bar considerably when grading how well Trump performed in these encounters, but the fact is Clinton has been sharper and better prepared in all three, and they really could be the deciding factor in this election.
“It’s completely heartbreaking to see Clinton so outclass a Republican nominee across 3 debates,” tweeted the National Review’s Rich Lowry last night.
It’s not like there isn’t ample material to use against Mrs. Clinton, and one can’t help but wonder for a moment how another candidate — such as Florida’s Marco Rubio — would have performed.
I don’t want to sound like I’m parroting the Tampa Bay Times’ Adam Smith, but it’s really true that a political athlete like Rubio would have been so much more formidable in this setting. Seeing him in Ybor City yesterday, I was reminded of just how quick-witted and sharp he is.
But forget all of that — Republican primary voters overwhelmingly rejected Rubio, just as they did John Kasich, who I believe would be the next POTUS if the GOP had nominated him. But the voters didn’t want Kasich, either.
In his presser at the J.C. Newman Cigar Company yesterday, Rubio again said he would not capitalize on the WikiLeaks release of emails of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta. At this point it seems like Rubio feels he can’t completely distance himself from Trump, but as his lead over Patrick Murphy grows narrower, look for him to continue to move to the center before Nov. 8.
In other news …
Critics of Amendment One on the ballot next month seized on the discovery of an audio tape of an official with the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee boasting that the utility industry is trying to deceive voters into supporting restrictions on solar power by supporting the amendment.
Hillsborough County has approved a 10-year, $600 million plan for transportation, but a lot of people remain unhappy about it all.
President Obama has cut a new television ad where he advocates for the election of Charlie Crist next month in Pinellas’ CD 13 race.
The president also called into local hip-hop station 95.7 The Beat yesterday to urge Tampa Bay area citizens to vote.
Rubio was in Tampa Wednesday, where he learned to roll cigars and discuss his disdain for regulations that could seriously jeopardize cigar factories like the J.C. Newman Company.
And you can mark the Pat Kemp-Tim Schock Hillsborough District 6 race as yet another local matchup that won’t feature a single debate between the main candidates.
