EJ Montini

The Arizona Republic

There is supposed to be another presidential debate on Oct. 19. Call it off.

CALL. IT. OFF.

Another debate would be a complete waste of time. It’s worse than a waste of time.

It debases us.

All of us.

I get the entertainment value.

Americans love full contact sports, which is probably why viewership of the National Football League has declined 11%.

Football has got nothing on the blood sport of presidential politics.

Look at what we’ve got.

Just make sure your kids don’t look.

The very first question in Sunday’s debate had to do with whether or not the candidates believed that the debate was something schoolchildren should be assigned to watch.

I can only hope that no school teacher did that.

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Before any of the kids could write a report they’d have to see a school psychologist.

And so, too, would the teacher.

It was ugly Sunday night. I would call it a dumpster fire but that would be an affront to dumpster fires.

I’m guessing that none of it changed your mind.

You think Trump is unhinged.

Or you think Clinton can’t be trusted.

You think the same thing about people who support Trump.

Or the people who support Clinton.

We need to stop fooling ourselves. We are not able in this election cycle to have a conversation. Not the candidates. Not us.

Maybe we’ll do better by the next presidential election. I hope so.

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But for now we’ve got all low blows and head butts.

We’ve been pummeled.

We don’t need a third debate.

We didn’t need the first two debates.

If you watched the exchange Sunday you came away with a pounding inside your skull. You suffered brain trauma.

And, sadly, presidential politics, unlike the NFL, has no concussion protocol.

EJ Montini is a columnist for The Arizona Republic, where this piece first appeared.

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