In the last debate of the election, Hillary Clinton emerged the way she hoped she would, as the all-but-certain first female president of the United States.

By refusing to pledge that he would accept the results of the election, Donald Trump all-but-certainly disqualified himself for the position of president. The peaceful transfer of power after a presidential election has been the pillar of our democracy. By refusing to accept the results of the vote, Trump would be flouting the tradition of American politics and the democratic beliefs of almost all voters.

Who won the final presidential debate? Read more

Like the two earlier debates, this one was contentious and marked by sniping between Trump and Clinton. But Trump’s claims were often far-fetched and lacked a shred of factual evidence. Especially bizarre was his baseless charge that the Clinton campaign was behind the allegations of nine women that Trump improperly groped or kissed them, charges that Trump has denied.

Some analysts thought Trump may have lost the election the day the disgusting tape of him bragging about his ability to kiss women and “grab them by the pussy” became public. His standing in battleground states and national polls did drop precipitously and steadily after the tape became public.

But his constant claims of a rigged election and refusal to join his running mate, Mike Pence, in saying he’d accept the election results are equally, if not more, outrageous. They are intended to damage people’s confidence in the election process itself.

So Trump blew his last best chance to present himself as a credible president, while Clinton, who maintained her composure throughout, radiated solidity.

Going into Wednesday’s debate, her stature as a candidate was much greater than in the previous two. Most national polls of late show her with a prohibitive lead over Trump. With 20 days remaining before election day, it is all but impossible for him to make up the lost ground necessary to win the presidency.

So the debate had far lower stakes for Clinton than Trump. Her strategy was fairly simple: show Trump as not fit for the presidency, defend herself without seeming defensive or evasive and, most important, maintain the demeanor of an all-but-president.

She did a masterful job of not letting Trump’s sharp attacks rile her. She did not assault Trump with as much sting as she had in the two past debates, though she still obviously got under his skin. He blurted out that she is “a nasty woman”.

Trump began the debate talking in a quiet voice and scoring some points against Clinton on issues like trade. But he soon lost focus and eventually fell to pieces, denying, when there is tape to prove it, that he had demeaned the appearances of his female accusers and interrupting Clinton repeatedly, practically shouting “wrong” after some of her assertions about his record.

There was substantive discussion of issues, on foreign policy, the supreme court, the US budget deficit and abortion. Clinton repeated her support for a woman’s right to control her body, while Trump showed his revulsion of late-term abortions and repeatedly described it as “rip[ping] the baby out of the womb”.

Clinton evaded direct answers posed by the moderator, Fox’s Chris Wallace about her ethics and used her answers to accuse Trump of being Vladimir Putin’s “puppet,” a remark that clearly rankled with him.

But she was careful to be positive, too, saying that America is great because “its people are good”. She said she had devoted her life’s work to women and children and would devote her presidency to protecting them. Trump again provided a very dark vision of the United States.

At times Clinton projected an almost regal bearing. She wore an elegant suit in white, a color she has favored at other key moments in her climb to the White House, including her Brooklyn victory rally after the primaries and at her acceptance speech at the Democratic convention. She clearly knows she is on the brink of making history once again.