Election 2016: The Second Presidential Debate

An ugly presidential town hall debate. We look at the aftermath.

It was hard to watch last night. Hard to hear. Genitals being discussed in a presidential debate. They called it a town hall, but the little circle of citizens gathered on the stage with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton looked shell-shocked, speechless. Donald Trump called his obscene tapes on groping women “locker room talk” and spoke of jailing Clinton. Hillary Clinton looked for the high road, and there was WikiLeaks. This hour On Point, scandal, the home stretch, and the second presidential debate. — Tom Ashbrook

Molly Ball, national political writer for the Atlantic. (@mollyesque)

Carl Hill, On Point listener from Nashville, TN. Hillary Clinton supporter.

Don West, On Point listener from Elizabethtown, KY. Donald Trump supporter.

Janet Hook, national political reporter for The Wall Street Journal. (@hookjan)

POLITICO: Ugliest Debate Ever — "In the final half hour, a frustrated Trump started the blame game, claiming the moderators were unfairly allowing Clinton’s answers to run long while he was being repeatedly cut off. 'It’s really very interesting,' Trump huffed. The two candidates arrived in St. Louis after a devastating 48 hours for Trump, whose campaign was sent into a tailspin on Friday by the publishing of the decade-old tape in which Trump described in graphic and sexually aggressive terms making unwanted advances on women, who, he said, allowed him to do so because he is a 'star.'"

The Wall Street Journal: GOP Scrambles to Salvage Election After Donald Trump’s Latest Imbroglio — "A divided Republican Party descended into turmoil, as a startling chorus of GOP candidates and officials repudiated their own presidential candidate and scrambled to find personal paths to political survival just a month before Election Day."

The Atlantic: For Young Voters, 'Hope and Change' Is Dead -- "Eight years ago, young voters thronged rapturous rallies for then-candidate Barack Obama. Earlier this year, they flocked to Bernie Sanders. But as Election Day nears, the natural idealism of youth is finding little political expression. Instead, if this group is any indication—and polls suggest it is—young people are just as bummed out as the rest of America about their choices in the presidential race."