Like millions of my fellow Americans, I watched the presidential debate on Monday night. Below are five topics I never want to hear mentioned again, in a debate or anywhere else:
1. The "Birther" Issue
Where President Obama was born has absolutely nothing to do with the state of our disappearing jobs, the limping economy, improving the nation's border security, strengthening the military, or protecting us against radical Islamic terrorism. Mr. Obama's presidency will be history in less than four months, so this media-driven "controversy" is meaningless. Why are the presidential debates wasting precious time rehashing this boring nonsense?
2. Personal Attacks
Donald Trump has a bad habit of calling people names. And? What's the point of pursuing this personal negative? We want to hear candidates talk about the issues and how they would handle them. We don't want to hear schoolyard trash. Is Hillary Clinton so flawless? She has been shown to have a bad habit of exposing national secrets to foreign enemies, then lying about it under oath. There is a nasty name for her behavior, too.
3. Tax Returns
I'm less interested in Donald Trump's tax returns than I am in the 33,000 emails deleted from Hillary Clinton's home server. I wonder if she checked for messages from Trump before hosing her in-box. Maybe he emailed her his tax returns.
4. "My Husband"
Who cares what happened under Bill Clinton's watch? The world today is a very different place, largely due to his inaction. You're the one running now, Madam Secretary. Do you need to ride his coattails to win? Can't a woman get the job done on her own? Forget the 1990s, let's get real-time. What's your plan, besides massive tax hikes and more job-killing regulations? Stop name-dropping and start getting specific about how you're going to engineer the financial gouging of hardworking Americans.
5. Boasting
Mr. Trump, we all know you've got a healthy ego. The presidential debates are not the time or place to remind us. We don't want to hear how much people love you, how many endorsements you've acquired, how proud you are of your accomplishments. Just stick to the issues. Tell us again about your plans for tax cuts, keeping jobs here at home, rebuilding manufacturing, slashing regulations. You can brag after you've won the election--if you do.
