Clinton's unprecedented debate challenge: Column

Hillary Clinton faces an unenviable challenge in her third and final debate against Donald Trump — and an unusual one as well.

She has a substantial advantage in national and battleground state polls, comparable to the similarly large leads enjoyed at this stage of the race by Bill Clinton in 1996, George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Ronald Reagan in 1984. But they didn't have to contend with a trio of debates or an unprecedented candidate like Trump.

His asymmetrical debating tactics surrounding the St. Louis town-hall included staging an impromptu press conference with three women who had accused President Clinton of sexual assault and inviting them to be in the audience and media spin room.

Soon after these political stunts, Trump publicly declared via Twitter that "the shackles have been taken off," so Clinton must be ready for literally anything to be thrown in her direction in Las Vegas. She must also balance strategic needs. She can't be perceived as running out the clock on the debate stage and must carefully select moments to engage Trump's attacks. This would be tough for any candidate, but Clinton's success in the previous two suggests she's up to the task.

Heading into the inaugural debate in New York, Clinton more than met high expectations and emerged as the solid winner in multiple polls of viewers. After that resounding victory, she faced even higher expectations at a town-hall debate in St. Louis. Trump's surprise press conference and the presence of women from the Clinton past clearly failed as an intimidation tactic. Nor was she rattled when he stalked around the stage and stood behind her while she spoke. Again, multiple polls showed voters thought Clinton defeated Trump, albeit by smaller margins this time.

Trump’s second debate performance demonstrated marked improvement and discipline. He stayed on the attack for most of the night and didn't fade into the background. But Clinton came dangerously close to prematurely declaring victory instead of engaging Trump during several critical exchanges. For instance, Trump accused Clinton of supporting a single payer health insurance system, which he said would be disastrous. Clinton missed an opportunity to point out that Trump had previously supported universal healthcare and had cited Canada as a potential model in his 2000 book The America We Deserve.

Trump also repeated a falsehood that many people saw bombs all over the apartment of San Bernardino shooters Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook prior to their rampage on Dec. 2, 2015. To this date, there remains no hard evidence to support his claim, yet Clinton offered no correction. Trump also touted an endorsement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This is impossible, as government agencies are prohibited from endorsing political candidates. He was actually endorsed by a union of ICE employees.

These were relatively minor oversights by Clinton, but she would do well to come armed with her own figures and statistics to fact-check Trump in Las Vegas. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News has unequivocally stated he will not be a “truth squad” and challenge the candidates in real-time.

As her poll leads grew, Clinton showed no sign of treating her third debate with Trump lightly. She scheduled no public events and set aside four straight days of debate preparation before the final showdown. That was smart. A politically wounded Trump without the shackles of the party establishment and with little to lose is an extremely dangerous opponent.

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Clinton is a seasoned debate veteran with a meticulous practice regimen. Her performances this fall in both the traditional and town-hall formats suggest she’ll be in a solid position to withstand and rebuff even a kitchen sink from Trump. And that is what she might get.

Following up on his psy-ops approach, Trump has already invited Pat Smith to be a prominent guest at the debate. She is the mother of State Department technology consultant Sean Smith, who was killed in the 2012 Benghazi attack.

Clinton must also be on guard for a Hail Mary of a completely different variety. Trump could announce he will serve as president for only a term, paving a quicker path for Mike Pence. He could pledge a multimillion-dollar donation to Planned Parenthood or another women’s group. Anything is possible and tens of millions of Americans will be watching to see how Clinton handles this final faceoff with a nominee like no other.

Aaron Kall is Director of Debate at the University of Michigan and editor of the new book Debating The Donald , to which he also contributed.

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