If this story is true and Sunday’s performance mimics the first debate then the most hated man on earth is going to be Donald Trump. Being new grants you a pass on incompetence exactly once.

Clinton’s Disgraceful Three-Headed Crime Has Compromised the FBI.

The mainstream media and its Democrat operatives with bylines missed the significance of Trump’s raised palm, but I’ll bet the majority of viewers–Donald’s Deplorables, Hillary’s Utterly-Despicables and the undecideds–understood his gesture and reference. “Taking the Fifth” is what mobsters and other guilty real world crooks do when they know the DA or the congressional committee has the goods. Hollywood and television murder mysteries often portray “taking the Fifth” as a shameless and arrogant admission of guilt. As the guilty perp takes the Fifth, she grins sardonically, implicitly daring the cops, the prosecutors–perhaps an informed and non-Democrat presidential debate moderator, if there is such a creature–to prove the charge.

If you’re interested, the Vice Presidential debate will be on tonight.
Given the age of the nominees it could be that one of them will be president.

Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
And, really, if you were placing hope on Wikileaks….

Stop talking about bimbos and get back to talking about jobs and the economy, stupid.

The Commission on Presidential Debates reported on Friday that there were in fact issues with Donald Trump’s microphone at the Debate Monday evening at Hofstra university in New York.

The media isn’t covering the election. The media is up for election.

Was up really early; a dog leaving on a jet plane, so this will have to do until I get more coffee, much more.
No one will be talking about much today except the debate. FWIW (not much), here’s my take:
Clinton is a politician and her experience showed in the late game. Trump controlled the first half, but he let the attacks get to him in the second. He wasted a lot of time blathering about crap no one cares about. As the adage goes, if you’re explaining, you’re losing.
As to how it affects anything? No idea. Personally, I was a little more convinced by Trump because he’s an amateur on that stage. I didn’t expect him to be so, well, reasonable. I expected ‘crooked Hillary’ and other crap from the nomination battles. It didn’t show up.
Trump missed +a lot+ of opportunities, Clinton didn’t and that decided the debate.

Open thread.

Showing up to riot
and
Not making friends of your enemies.

Exceed expectations. Ding. Ding.
Monday will be the defining day, but thanks to our friends in the media, the expectations for Trump are very low. Canadians would be well to remember the 2015 debates. Trudeau never ‘won’ any. Due to the Trump effect, I expect it will be the largest debate audience in decades. If either screws up, it could be the end.
Via Drudge

Trump going to Mexico was the latest in a string of good decisions by his campaign team.
There is hope.

Change is not in the air. 39% still voted for her. Indicted last month.

Brown now joins the ranks of Reps. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.), Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) and Randy Forbes (R-Va.) as incumbents who lost primaries this year.

Five.

Another one gone. I hate 2016.

I’ll leave it to you to determine which one I mean.

Good question.

“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, 58% of your youth are unemployed — what the hell do you have to lose?” Trump asked the audience in an unscripted moment from a speech in which he otherwise stuck to his teleprompter.
He accused Clinton of wanting to give jobs to refugees rather than unemployed African-Americans in the US, saying they have “become refugees in their own country.”

Could it be that reset #2 may have worked? Via Ken K in the comments:
US Daily Wire had Trump by 6. I admit, I’ve never heard of them before, so I don’t know their reputation. Lots in the breakdown that’s interesting.

If Trump wanted to kill two birds with one stone, he might want to shift the villain in his currency manipulation story to George Soros.