With 'nasty woman' comment, Trump missed this last chance
Hillary Clinton came into the final debate in a stronger political position than Donald Trump -- and wisely chose not to play it safe. Instead, she jabbed at Trump continually, and predictably drew out the billionaire's angry, caustic side. Trump handled early questions well, sounding familiar notes on why he would nominate conservative judges to the Supreme Court. But Clinton kept needling him, pointing out that Trump projects were built with Chinese steel and undocumented immigrant labor. And she more or less called Trump a "puppet" of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, leading her irritated opponent with little more to reply than, "No, you're the puppet."
Trump was at his best, as usual, on the economy, but was cornered on the issue of how his proposed plan would affect Medicare, Social Security and the national debt (the debate's moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, did an excellent job of showing how Clinton and Trump would both leave entitlements at risk and do little to slow growth of the debt).
"Such a nasty woman!" Trump complained toward the end of the debate, a marker of Clinton's skill at getting under Trump's skin -- much in the way she did in the first debate.
The point was well taken. Clinton has averaged a 6.5-point lead over Trump in polls over the past week. That's after a 5-point lead following the first debate. With fewer than three weeks to go, Trump is running out of time to catch up, and may have missed his last, best chance in the final debate.
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