Barry Soper: The clash no one can take for granted

The clash today in St Louis promises to be more feisty than the first with half the questions coming from the audience. Photo / AP

Opinion

So will it be the war to settle the score or the brawl to end it all? Today's second standoff between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, a hoe down in a Town Hall setting, in front of a thousand undecided voters, will probably be a bit of both with Trump promising to take it to Clinton and not to show his soft side which in his case is his porcelain veneer chompers.

But then his opponent's far from motherhood and apple pie, although neither is she an angry, crotchety old hag as one Trump supporter described her recently.

The clash today in St Louis, on the banks of the great Mississippi River, promises to be more feisty than the first with half the questions coming from the audience.

One of the benefits of covering the closing stages of the Obama/Romney campaign four years ago was being on their mailing lists where I've remained ever since. They give you an insight to the main proponents' thinking, and even though they're ahead in the polls, the Democrats aren't taking anything for granted.

Clinton plays on her gender and on her libertarian values in these missives to the party faithful. Making a play on Trump's campaign slogan she says America is already great because Americans are good, citing the proud moments she's had on the campaign, like same sex couples embracing outside the Supreme Court after winning the right to marry, like little girls on their fathers' shoulders, waving to her at rallies and telling her they're going to run for President when they grow up.

For her it's a pity that polls show while the schmaltz resonates with women her age, with women around the age of her daughter Chelsea, the overwhelming support remains with Bernie Sanders!

Of course being on the mailing list isn't because they like the cut of your jib, it's because they like the size of your wallet. To that end, the Democrats are sounding more desperate that the towering Trump with this admission from none other than Barak himself.

Obama says he didn't have to worry about the two men who unsuccessfully ran against him, both he says wouldn't have endangered democracy, they were both capable of using the Presidential seal.

This year's different, he says, Donald Trump's not up to the job and would damage the nation so they must do everything to stop him.

The Democrats, Obama admits, are falling short of where they need to be in terms of fundraising. And he'd know, the cost of his re-election last time round was a dizzying $775 million!