Don't fall for the trap!

The third Presidential debate of 2016 between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will start in a few hours. Ms. Clinton can finish off Trump for good with a strong performance here. Political pundits are of the opinion that Clinton should be ready to answer questions raised by the recent release of hacked emails by Wikileaks. They say her challenge is to minimize the damage without making any statements which the opposition can exploit. I TOTALLY DISAGREE with this strategy. I think the Clinton should refuse to answer questions based on the emails published by Wikileaks, saying that she is not willing to authenticate a crime (done most probably by the Russians). Answering a single question based on Wikileaks email will open up all the emails released so far, and in the future, to be ‘in play’. What will happen if some fake email, highly damaging to Clinton, is published one or two days before the election day?  It will create permanent damage as by the time it is proven to be false, the election will be over!

 Again, Hillary Clinton should refuse to answer any question based on the leaked emails. There will be some uproar about it for a few days. But it is worth the cost, and she can afford it. (What happened to the uproar about Trump not releasing his tax returns?)

I am worried!

With polls showing almost certain defeat, Donald Trump is now attacking the fairness of the whole election process. He is encouraging his supports to ‘watch’ the polling places to prevent fraud! Imagine polling booths with angry Trump supporters standing around.  It can intimidate Hillary Clinton supporters, especially women, from voting. This could be a winning strategy for Trump. I am worried.

Silent burn!

I am quite bothered to find that a few my of Indian friends wish for a Trump Presidency. They are mostly well-to-do Republicans like doctors and businessmen (who are mostly concerned about tax rates and loopholes to protect their wealth). To me, any Indian who supports Trump is a narrow minded and poorly informed person who does not see the ‘big picture’. They do not realize that this election is no longer a Democrat versus Republican, but an election to choose democracy versus dictatorship. They fail to see that a government which focuses on deporting illegal immigrants and stopping visitors from Muslim countries, will be tough on Indians who look ‘Middle Eastern’ and pass through Muslim countries (like Dubai and Kuwait) when they visit India. Are they ready to be stopped and searched by police like they do to Black people in this country? What about the potential turmoil of the world market under Trump who wants to renegotiate our country’s debt, and redo long term trade and security treaties with other countries? Are these Trump supporters ready for a stock market meltdown wiping out their savings? According to polls, the majority of people who support Trump are whites who are not so well educated. Indians in this country, certainly do not fit this profile! I assume a latent hatred of Muslims, admiration for the current Prime Minister of India (a potential dictator), jealousy of well-educated and accomplished Clintons, and the inevitable misogynist tendencies of Indian men, are some of the reasons behind this anomaly. God help us all.

I keep my feelings quiet, and avoid talking about elections with most of my friends as I am sure that I will lose my temper destroying our friendships. But today’s news about Trump in Bollywood was too much to take!