by Darren Janz With less than three weeks remaining until Election Day arrives, both Trump and Clinton are working as possible to build up last-minute momentum in preparation for November 8. The third and final presidential debate of the general election season - to be held tonight at 9:00 PM EST in Las Vegas, Nevada - could prove to be vital to either candidate's chances of a final boost in the polls, though that's not to say the first part of October hasn't been crucial in determining who becomes the next President of the United States. Needless to say, the most prominent political happening since our last blog post on September 26 - and perhaps since the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign early last year - was the Washington Post's release of a tape in which Donald Trump and television host Billy Bush were recorded having an "extremely lewd conversation about women" in 2005 while aboard a bus owned by Bush's Access Hollywood television program. The recorded conversation included Trump describing in full detail... well, just look and see for yourself (video obtained from The Daily Conversation): Why has the video caused so much controversy? No explanation needed.
The Access Hollywood controversy came only a few days after the first and only Vice Presidential debate of the 2016 election, with Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Kaine and his Republican counterpart Mike Pence facing off in what would be their only opportunity to promote their respective running mates' candidacies on the debate stage. Though there were no explicitly controversial or particularly newsworthy moments in the debate, most polling suggests that Pence won by a small margin, with many news outlets accrediting his likeable style as opposed to Kaine's relative aggression as the main reason for his victory. The second presidential debate, which was held at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on October 9, was rather spirited when compared to the Vice Presidential debate held days before, likely due to the news of the Access Hollywood controversy and its effect on both candidates' campaign strategies. While Hillary Clinton took advantage of the controversy and left no opportunity to attack Trump for his record on women unused, Trump repetitively referred to the recording of his lewd conversation as mere "locker-room talk," attempting to deflect attention from his own controversies and onto those of his Democratic rival as much as possible. The end of the debate, however, did have a light moment, with Donald Trump praising Hillary Clinton's work ethic and Clinton praising Trump's children after both were asked by a member of the audience to highlight a positive quality they saw in their opponent. All things considered, it appears most think the first half of the last month before Election Day was a net benefit for Clinton, with backlash against Trump from Republicans and Democrats alike following the release of the Access Hollywood tape allowing Clinton to turn away from her own controversies and put Trump on the defense once more. However, with the final presidential debate being held tonight and three full weeks remaining until America goes to vote on November 8, the seeming mantra of the 2016 election still holds true - anything can happen.
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