Passport in Order

I am not a political junkie, despite coming from the loins of two such people.

For the most part, I stay out of the fray, basing my political opinions on what I read since I don't watch TV or listen to radio news.

If you want the truth, I don't generally bother watching debates, either - can't remember the last one I saw - because I'd just as soon read the analysis the next day to assess who said what and how they handled themselves.

But.

In my decades as a registered voter, I have never felt the queasiness I feel this year and, like most Americans, my opinion of this election cycle is shared by everyone, as in every single person I know. I honestly can't say I've met a single Trump supporter, making it even harder for me to fathom the human beings who support this wing nut.

So, yes, Virginia, when I saw there was a debate-watching party at Camden's, I made it part of my evening's plans after wine on the porch and dinner out with Pru, who good-naturedly agreed to end the evening with politics.

Since we were a few minutes late arriving, the attentive crowd was already intent on the screen when we walked in, accepted the glasses of Rose and plate of fried chicken wings we were handed and took up our position standing next to a late-blooming political junkie and a visiting North Carolinian.

That's right, this debate was important enough to stand for an hour and a half.

Since my only frame of reference for Trump was the Internet snippets liberal friends have posted, I was there to see how the man held up over the long haul, not that an hour and a half should be especially long should you be President.

First of all, if his long-dead Scottish mother wasn't rolling over in her grave, then that's proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I have never seen such a deplorable lack of manners, especially for someone who somehow believes he'd be a fine leader of the free world. In the "everything I needed to know, I learned in kindergarten" category, interrupting someone, shouting them down while speaking, is certainly on the list, along with other basic rules of civility.

Play fair.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Share everything.

Perhaps the Donald didn't go to kindergarten. He clearly never learned to speak in coherent sentences (or maybe he and Sarah Palin went to the same kindergarten).

It was satisfying hearing the cheers when Hillary nailed something ("I have a feeling that by the end of the evening I'll be blamed for everything.") and when Trump had yet another misstep  ("That makes me smart"), as if the room was all on the same wavelength.

The only two Trump supporters sitting in the back slipped out of their seats and left before the debate ended, effectively confirming even their mortification with the candidate.

But everyone's still terrified on some level because we just don't know what'll happen in November. My favorite Virgo is looking at New Zealand and my biggest fan emailed this morning, saying, "Want to move to Canada, Sweden, Bali?"

Trump's finest moment came when he said, "We are a nation that is seriously troubled."

Yes, yes we are, but at the possibility that a loser like you could represent and govern us.

Even a non-political junkie with a penchant for Rose and wings has that much sense.