The 2016 presidential debates are over, and Donald Trump lost all of them.

These spectacles were like bad horror movies. Degrading to watch, additionally degrading you couldn’t help watching anyhow. Trump debases everything he touches, including august traditions like presidential debates.

Watching Trump debate was edifying for all the wrong reasons. It taught us how close and susceptible our country is to authoritarian takeover. It taught us how fragile even our robust institutions are. And, most importantly, it taught us a lot that may not have been obvious about America’s elected leaders.

The question now, with Trump’s defeat looming, is how long our memories will be? Huffington Post writers Jason Linkins and Jeffrey Young assess whether the Republican Party, with an assist from the news media, will be able to sweep the fact that they created and enabled Trump under the rug.

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When Republican elected officials stampeded away from Trump after the notorious Access Hollywood video came to light, Jeff took them for task for pretending they didn’t know who Trump was all along.

Jason noticed that reporters are already sympathizing with House Speaker Paul Ryan rather than holding him to account for supporting Trump’s candidacy.