As I See It
Will final debate focus on real issues?
It has come down to this. The final presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton happens tomorrow night. It marks the final chance for the two candidates to share a stage together, and the final chance for the two presidential hopefuls to tell us where they stand on the issues. Unfortunately, the first two debates were mired by finger-pointing and name calling, with very little discussion of actual policy. We have heard little on the candidate’s stand on tax policy, or foreign policy or other issues they would be charged with dealing with as President. Instead we have heard discussions of sexual abuse, adultery and whether one of them should be in jail. The American people deserve better. One issue that should be the subject of debate is transparency. Neither candidate has offered their views of how transparent their administration should or would be. There are few issues as important to so many people. Transparency is key to our democracy, allowing citizens to hold our representatives accountable. But neither presidential candidate has even addressed the topic.They dodge it at every turn, from refusing to share emails or release their tax returns. In fact, we have found out more about how they really operate from the likes of Wikileaks and TMZ. We deserve to know whether they pledge to run an open government. But if past history is any guide, we won’t even hear the topic discussed at the final presidential debate.