AP ANALYSIS: In Debate, Clinton Was Prepared, Trump Was Trump
BY KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -- She was at her best. He was not at his worst. Weeks of Super Bowl-style hype aside, Monday night's 90 minutes of heated clashes between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump probably didn't shove many undecided voters off the fence.
If Clinton aimed to push her famously unpredictable opponent into a made-for-sharing disqualifying moment, she didn't quite get there. If Trump set out to show America - particularly women - he's completed the transformation from cartoonish pop culture staple to leader worthy of the Oval Office, he still has a way to go. But in a debate full of feisty exchanges and a personal scuffle or two, the candidates demonstrated clearly how they've gotten this far. Clinton was polished, prepared and proud of it -a Hermione Granger at a podium. She came with sharp and practiced answers, most notably a newly direct one for the questions about her private email server that has dogged her candidacy for months. She grinned broadly and calmly, even when under fire, and she mocked but only gently the man she called "Donald."
"I think Donald just criticized me for preparing for this debate. And, yes, I did," Clinton said. "And you know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president. And I think that's a good thing."
Trump addressed his opponent as "Secretary Clinton" - even asking for her approval for the term - but by the end he called her "Hillary." The care he took with her title was a reminder of the voters he was aiming to win over. Women, particularly college-educated white women, are the key to Trump turning his current burst of momentum into a sustained surge that lasts until Election Day. The 70-year-old businessman has struggled to persuade women, even those with doubts about the first woman president, to get behind his bid, thanks in part to his performances in past debates, which led to cringe-worthy challenges to moderator Megyn Kelly or opponent Carly Fiorina.
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