Although he certainly did not appear "presidential", I don't think that last nights debate was in any way a crushing defeat for Mr. Trump.
He acted just as I expected him to act.
It's the way he has presented himself at all of his rally's and all of his interviews.
And I am sure that his appeal to THAT certain segment of the American voter has not waivered one iota.

I agree with Olga and Bruce. Trump acted just as we would have expected, just as he as acted in the past, because it is the only way he can act. WYSIWYG -- Trump is Trump -- and to expect different behavior from him would be unrealistic. He is where he is because his behavior and beliefs appeals to a segment of the American voters.

Hillary performed admirably, did not appeared rattled, and brought her best composed and articulate game. It will be interesting to see if anything changes from either one in the next two debates, but I suspect they will be the same.

I did not watch the debate so cannot give my own opinion. However, from what I'm reading, Hillary did well. There is always a few naysayers, though. One being a writer in San Francisco who said Trump looked good to his supporters, the white high school graduates who feel they have been abandoned by their government. She wrote that Trump looks to this group like they think a billionaire should look and act. Scary.

NPR and The Guardian both mentioned his sniffling. He acted like such a bully, I could barely stand it. I am so glad Hillary maintained her calm.

I, too, cannot understand people who support bullies but hopefully they will be in the minority. I went to Europe after the primary. People there are incredulous that Trump got this far but, unfortunately, he did not have good competitors. They laugh but are also worried.

I had fully intended not to watch - but just tuned into MSNBC at the outset to check it out.

And then I watched. All the way through. And no doubt offended my neighbors, because at certain moments I yelled back at whatever Trump was spouting. Good thing I wasn't in the Hofstra audience..

Trump was Trump - although he changed noticeably after the first half hour or so. Had there been throughout this sort of evidence of a civilized approach rather than his usual bombast, I would have been worried. But Hillary is far too smart for him - for most of us, I suspect - and she played him like an instrument. And got under that thin, thin skin.

And she also laughed and in a sense made fun of herself. My favorite exchange was after he had again blamed her for something outlandish [spending her whole life causing ISIL, or something like that], she laughed and said that by the end of the evening she would probably be blamed for everything in the world - and he snapped back "why not?" and she laughed again and repeated - why not. And even Trump laughed. Even Trump.

Lester Holt remained far too held back, not very moderator-like. He did minor fact checks, which I appreciated.

But don't count on me. My urgent suggestion is that you go online to this morning's Washington Post and find Alexandra Petri's incredibly apt column, all about Holt and Trump and Clinton. I laughed literally until I cried. Bless her. She nails it, but in her incredibly precise and hilarious way. I would give you the website, but I don't think Ronni wants us to give out websites. Petri is the satirist of all satirists right now.

So I am not sorry I watched. I unloaded a lot of stress, I think. And I desperately hope this changes the directions of the polls and Nate Silver.. It should.

ah yes, Trump's sniffling. It was so obvious, so omnipresent, also all his twitchings and wild facile expressions, etc. - MSNBC actually showed a split screen of each of their faces, the one wildly twitching, scowling, etc., the other totally calm and collected. And the Daily Kos commenters were the ones to bring cocaine to mind for me.. Ah well.

Not being a Jerry Springer fan, I have always assumed that his was mind I didn't need to take seriously. He may have redeemed himself this morning with his reaction to last night's debate. He said, "Hillary Clinton belongs in the White House. Donald Trump belongs on my show." Period, full stop. I think the country let out a collective sigh of relief after last night's one-sided blowout.

Trump is now blaming his microphone and Lester Holt - - the microphone was deliberately sabotaged and Lester Holt was helping Hillary. Poor guy, the whole world is against him, and nothing is his fault. Just as expected.

I agree that Hillary played him. What others call overly rehearsed, I'd call lawyer like. She started her time as if she was beginning her argument to a jury.

I thought at first her facial expressions were off putting, but as she got comfortable, I think we saw the Hillary we need to know can deal with crises and foreign leaders. I thought his jabs at her stamina and his assertions of superior temperament were bizarrely funny. Can't the man hear himself? Has he no self awareness? Oh, right, we are discussing Donald Trump here.

I admit I missed the sniffing. I also admit I did not pick up his gasping. But that could be a bit of anxiety, I think. I did note how old he looked on the split screen next to Hillary, who looked fresh as a daisy.

I thought Holt's looser rein gave us all a clear picture of Trump. We saw hm manterrupting, reacting to Hillary's arguments, and being defensively incoherent. I was surprised by Holt's questions about Trump's birther involvement. But that question produced an incoherent response that did Trump great harm.

I also thought Clinton's response on racism was right. She told the truth. We are all, in a sense racist, or, racism exists in our country. You have to name the evil before being able to combat it.

Tom Brokaw on NBC commented that Trump visited the spin room after, which is unheard of. He thought Trump was trying to get a bit of a do over.

Perhaps a toddler, Darlene, but my image is the 10 year old bully in the class who farts and points to a kid in the other corner. Not capable of taking responsibility for sniffling (which we all heard coming from him loud and clear because his mic was fine!) he is now blaming that very mic!

Was anyone else quickly offended by "is Secretary of State Clinton Ok...I want you to be happy." ? I cringed from there!

We watched it on our iPad (no tv) just us and the bottle of white wine to get through it. I agree with all the other commenters...who are all these people who think there is anything reasonable about him?
Leze

I don't know that any of it makes any difference. I was glad that Hillary avoided making any major errors, but I was sorry that she didn't follow up and hit Trump with some of his throwaway lines - that not paying taxes is smart, that he'll be on Pennsylvania Avenue one way or the other (really? He's just looking to move?), that he was the one who made Obama produce his birth certificate...

And I was sorry that Hillary didn't present a vision of any sort. I was thinking of JFK this morning. Hillary apologized in so many words for too many things..the TPP, the emails...instead of giving the audience anything like a vision. In a way, I'm glad she didn't try to - yes, she was scripted, but she tends to get creamed when she speaks from her heart. (I'm remembering her saying "I didn't want to stay home and bake cookies," so many years ago. )

Yes, Trump was incoherent- he can't put together six sentences without contradicting himself. (What was that mess about how he would never take the first nuclear strike? But then he might?) But I'm sure that won't bother his supporters any more than Benghazi bothers me.

The undecideds baffle me, too. But, like the woman who's going to vote for whatever ass is leading the mule train, I knew I was going to vote for the Dem four years ago: The GOP has nothing that aligns with my values/interests/concerns, from the role of gov't to guns to global warming.

I guess I start making phone calls for Hillary, because Trump scares the crap out of me, from my retirement savings to WWIII. It looks like the answer to the American Experiment - can a people govern themselves? - is No.

They were both as I thought they would be...

I agree Hillary won the debate. She should have, she is, after all a politician. Trump is reaching the common man and that is where he wins. I will not vote for Hillary because she is a career (thief) politician.

I watched every minute, followed comments on Twitter and then watched an hour of talking heads rehashing the debate. ( I need a life and a nap)

Hillary won! IMHO

I just heard Trump say he won in all of the polls, except CNN, but no one watches CNN anyway. Also, the Trump spokespeople are all over the TV and doing their emotional less style interviews. They look like windup robots.

A few minutes before CNN shown a few minutes of Hillary in Raleigh, NC this morning thanking her supporters.

With all due respect, I'm having a bit of difficulty seeing where billionaire Trump is for "the common man". Here's a man who thinks it's "smart" to pay no federal income taxes (the rest of us paid ours, right?) although he uses the infrastructure those taxes support. He thinks it's just good business to cheat employees out of wages and vendors out of payment for services rendered, then tie them up in lengthy and expensive court battles. His multiple bankruptcies left thousands of ordinary people unemployed. His branded clothing, campaign materials and other merchandise are manufactured overseas, mostly in China. I'm just curious: how does that work for the common American?

That said, Hillary is not Mother Teresa. Who is? She has made mistakes and errors in judgment that might have been avoided. However, unlike the Trump Foundation, the Clinton Foundation has actually spent its money to help people all over the world. True to form, Trump has basically used his foundation to help himself.

As far as the debate is concerned, I think Trump performed like the bombastic bully that he is. His behavior confirmed for me that it's terrifying to contemplate his being anywhere near the nuclear codes. I believe that the planet would be at terrible risk if he is elected. I don't think the debate changed many voters' minds. The only hope we have is that more Americans will cast a vote for sanity than for bombast.

Of course Hillary Clinton won. She was debating against an ignorant buffoon who has spent his life conning people and proclaiming this fact with pride. Hillary has always impressed me with her intelligence, her knowledge of facts, and her ability to present.
BUT WE LIVE IN VERY STRANGE TIMES and what should be a dunk/slam isn't! television, the dumbing down of the American people, reality TV, and entertainment. All of these have taken over and their influence is what has made this circus of our political system.
Jimmy Kimmel or one of the other late night hosts did interviews with people and the questions they were asked: Who won the Civil War (a majority had no idea or confused their history) and who are Brangelina (all of them knew) demonstrates where we have come in this country. Trump is a big reality star. He knows how to play the entertainment card. Hillary is a policy wonk. Most people nowadays want entertainment.
I thought she aced the debate but my inner gut says we really won't know the outcome of these elections until November 9th.
As an aside, Hillary's whole adult life has been difficult. Nothing has come easy for this woman. Whatever else can be said, this fact alone demonstrates her resilience and that is a good quality to have in this crazy world of ours!

High schools need to provide a four year curriculum in critical thinking. It is painfully obvious that it is lacking in a large segment of our population.

...and I would like to add what kind of a political party would accept this man as it's nominee. Are they not afraid for their own families let alone the world??
Shame on them for not stopping him before now. I hope Hillary can prevent this "Catastrophe' from happening.

I agree with much of what has been said in most of the posts...and in particular the comment about the Republican Party - "whiny, hating ways." An Independent all my voting life - who voted Republican until 2008. I am not aligned with the current party leaders or most of the platform. I am not sure I will ever vote Republican again before I leave this earth. All that said, the current situation - with Trump as the candidate - is a direct manifestation of this party's abandonment & failure to lead in a way that is good for all - and not just a small percentage. Other than the few who have had the guts to stand up to Trump & publicly announce they are not behind him, etc. - they are not an option for me.