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Shortly before Monday night’s presidential debate, Jill Stein — the Green Party candidate — was escorted from the grounds of Hofstra University, where the event was being held. The incident perfectly illustrated the shortcomings of a campaign in which independent thought — and sometimes thought of any kind at all — has been largely absent.

Also missing from Monday night’s event was Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, who should have been on stage with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Unlike the Republican and the Democrat, Johnson has stuck to issues and ideas rather than character attacks and personal sniping. He would have added considerable depth and a badly needed alternative voice to the proceedings. Johnson’s egregious gaffe about Aleppo in early September was embarrassing, and deservedly so. But it was nothing compared to the colossal ignorance, incoherence and boorishness Donald Trump displayed Monday night. At times the Republican — we use that word loosely — seemed to be doing an imitation of Monty Python’s “Argument Clinic” skit, shouting “Not!” and “Wrong!” as if that constituted a substantive rebuttal rather than a childish outburst.