Donald Trump won tonight’s debate. He didn’t implode, he didn’t blither, he didn’t continually interrupt Hillary Clinton and he didn’t even sniff much. And, frankly, he had the best retorts and one-liners. Clinton was on her heels much of the night, and several times, she had to reset by resorting to tired, hollow platitudes — which only drove home the point that she lacks authenticity and appears to be a typical politician who is therefore dishonest. That said, Clinton was an able, informed politician, but Trump — for the first time — appeared to be a worthy opponent.

The fact is this is a change election, and Clinton is not the change candidate. People don’t really want to vote for her, and tonight, she didn’t give them much of a reason to do so. And perhaps Trump put voters more at ease with Trump. Up until this debate, Trump has helped Clinton out by running a campaign that has been a complete misfire — taking the bait, chasing rabbits, insulting women, wallowing in conspiracies and almost consciously avoiding things voters care about. But during this debate, he held his tongue and held his temper. Trump isn’t particularly light on his feet, but he was confident and competent talking about the economy. It’s a wonder he hasn’t talked about the economy during more of the campaign. Anyway, he even showed a much better understanding of geopolitics than I would have thought. He sounded like a Republican on most issues. For Trump, it’s too bad there aren’t more debates.