What is going on?

Let’s start there, because whatever happened last night was so entertaining, so scary, and completely ridiculous I am not quite sure it was real. These are our options, people. We have one plump, orange, very sniffly man who was not trained on camera angles and did not seem to recognize that he was always in his opponents shot, and on the other side of the stage we had a grandmother in kitten heels who was trying very hard to use her inside voice when speaking to the aforementioned plump man.

The night started off, predictably, with the most unpredictable thing (arguably) this election season has seen: anAccess Hollywood videoin which Trump openly talked about grabbing a woman’s "pussy" and needing Tic Tacs because he might just start kissing any beautiful woman he sees. Those words came out of the mouth of our potential President.Let that sink in. When they write about this election in the history books, it will have to mention a moment where the Republican presidential candidate said the word “Pussy.” Never forget. While personally, I think this should disqualify him from being able to run, we spent less than four minutes briefly glossing over this very serious issue. Trump doubled down on calling his words "locker room talk," twice, and Hillary tried really hard to hide the glee in her eyes while watching him from the other side of the hall.

Is anybody comfortable with what is happening? It makes me feel queasy and a whole lot of nervous.

I thought themoderating of this debate by CNN Anchor (and dreamboat, but I digress) Anderson Cooper and ABC’s Anchor Martha Raddatz was well done. They did a good job actually trying to drill into answers on important issues, stay on time, and keep the schoolyard banter at bay. Obviously, right leaning commentators say it was Pro-Clinton, left leaning commentators say they weren’t harsh enough on Trump – I felt it teetered somewhere in the middle. Despite an audible “Ok – three vs one” jab from Trump, who clearly felt he was being mistreated, they kept the candidates on track the best of any debate we have seen in 2016, and infinitely better than what Kaine vs Pence showed us last week.

We are under a month away from casting ballots, early voting has already started in some places, and this is the biggest lack of policy and content election we, as a country, have ever seen. There is so much nonsense being thrown around, so many distractions from what is actually going on, and more fluff than a cotton candy machine.

The town hall format of this debate made for excellent television. My personal favorite was the one that elicited cringe worthy, fake answers, but leveled with whateverybody was probably thinking– “My question to both of you is, regardless of the current rhetoric, would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?” Clinton responded with a politically correct, "I respect his Children," and Trump, in what I think was his most authentic answer all night, responded that he admired her never-give-up attitude. Although I am unsure if anybody could actually be undecided in this election, it was refreshing to hear questions come from everyday folks who just want to know what Clinton and Trump are actually going to do.

One of the main reasons that this debate was memorable would be the newest national treasure of America,Kenneth Bone.

Ken Bone, a man, not a myth, but undoubtedly a legend, asked a beautifully articulated question about how you can be environmentally conscious without losing existing jobs in the Fossil Fuel industry – you go, Ken Bone. The internet lost its collective minds and immediately, a hero was born. If nothing other than the fact that post debate, after shaking both of the Clinton’s hands, our man right here whipped out a DISPOSABLE camera and snapped a photo of the stage. What a guy.

It was an interesting night. Nothing new came out of the debate, which was not surprising, but it felt like an SNL skit that was actually happening and one you laugh at because it’s funny. But then you slowly start to weep when you realize this our reality – this is actually it. Rules vary from state to state, but please, go out and vote. If you aren’t registered,go do it now. At the end of this wild ride, we will have a new president… here’s to hoping we get our shit together.

Same, Bill—same.

~Alyssa