I think Hillary Clinton could rally support from undecideds and Gary Johnson supporters if she delivered something like the following during her next debate ("Debate minefield: Town hall will test candidates' stagecraft," Oct. 6):
"I have had the opportunity to learn how to face urgent matters with reason and unpretentiousness. Nothing suggests that my big picture goals have changed or that I will suddenly stop directing my learned and practiced skills other than for the greatest good for the greatest number of American people. I have grandchildren for heaven's sake — grandchildren who I want to grow up in a safe America and in as stable a world as possible. Change requires a long-term plan that allows for flexibility as we learn from our mistakes and successes. I have no intention of putting at risk Americans' ability to find sanctuary at home or to live with freedom and in peace with an opportunity for prosperity.
"Donald, if 9/11, problems in Syria and ISIL have taught us anything at all, it is that irrational thought and action are not controllable. Diplomacy and lucid thinking are essential for increasing the odds of a successful outcome here. No one has all the answers and anyone who professes to is someone we must all be scared of. Donald, I wish I did not have to be insulting here but having someone like you in power, with your hypersensitive ego and the need to deal with all the moving parts of decisions that will impact the world in ways your synapses are not practiced at even imagining, will increase exponentially the risk of creating an otherwise avoidable conflict or of failing to deal with an existing conflict without allowing matters to escalate to a point where we are protecting our own shores.
"I am the right choice even for those who think I am not a good choice because under no circumstances can the people of this country, even those looking for more change than they think I will offer, afford to take the unpredictably high risk that would come with you serving as president. That we are where we are today is inexplicable other than to say that you have found support from some out there whose anger and disappointment with how they have fared under our government runs so deep that they have been duped into jeopardizing their own well-being and future to seek change no matter what form it might take and no matter what unexpected consequences might result. Well, those supporters better be careful what they wish for. Many Brits who voted to exit the European Union because of emotions like you invoke regretted that decision within days because they never really thought about the real life consequences of that result until it was too late.
"Donald, your supporters have no picture of what changes you will make or how you intend to implement them. Your inability to articulate a thought clearly and with substance after more than a year on the campaign trail, your bluster and your demeaning way of "loving" whatever group you are trying to appeal to at the moment, even one you just insulted, should inform voters that you, Donald Trump, are not genuine, that your primary concern is for yourself and that you are simply unqualified to act as commander-in-chief of the United States of America.
"Do Americans want uncertainty and risk? Then elect Donald Trump. If Americans want someone who has faced the kinds of situations presidents face and has done so with a demonstrated degree of success, if Americans want a president who has the ear of Washington insiders as well as foreign heads of state, if Americans want someone who has always had and who will continue to have the American way of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the central motivation for everything she does, then you have only one choice here. I vow to make you proud that Hillary Clinton is your president."
Charles Piven