Loosely based on Rudi Carell, I say, “You can only pull good lines out of your sleeve if you’ve put them in beforehand.” Hillary Clinton had a few aces up her sleeve in last night’s TV duel with Donald Trump. So across the board, she got better marks for your performance. Even Trump supporters were disappointed with his performance on stage.

The lesson from the first Clinton-Trump live duel: good preparation helps!

This is very clear in Clinton’s saying, which I’m sure was quoted in EVERY media outlet (and guaranteed to be rehearsed):

“I believe,” Clinton said pointedly, “that Donald has criticized me for preparing for this debate. Yes, I have. And you know what else I prepared for? For the presidency. And that’s a good thing.”

The FAZ (Andreas Ross) wrote: “Trump was probably not lying when he promised the Americans that he would not train for the debate for days like Clinton. He certainly didn’t want to come across as a conventional politician who recites crammed slogans. But Trump didn’t seem to notice that his rival was setting the themes. Clinton hardly allowed herself to be provoked, skipped over most of the accusations and threw out new bait in almost every one of her visibly rehearsed speeches – and Trump reliably snapped to attention.”