• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, September 8, 2016

Last night’s Commander in Chief forum did little to further the presidential case for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. In fact, it may have entrenched the many problems and agonies voters have with both presidential candidates.

The NBC-hosted event, aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum in New York City, was the first time in the general election that Clinton and Trump have both appeared on the same stage. It was a tame foreshadowing of what we will see at the three presidential debates, the first on September 26.

Clinton’s emails and Trump’s lack of specificity in his policy prescriptions were front and center. Matt Lauer moderated with questions from servicemen and women interspersed throughout.

The first audience question for Clinton: “As a naval flight officer, I held a top secret sensitive compartmentalized information clearance. Had I communicated this information not following prescribed protocols, I would have been prosecuted and imprisoned.”

“How can you expect those such as myself … to have any confidence in your leadership as president when you clearly corrupted our national security?”

The query perfectly frames the sentiment many feel about Hillary Clinton’s handling of sensitive information during her tenure as Secretary of State. The problem for Clinton is that it is difficult to imagine an answer that would satisfy those who share the apprehensions the gentleman expressed, even after FBI Director Comey wrote that a Clinton indictment wasn’t a close call.

Her answer yesterday evening certainly wouldn’t.

“I have a lot of experience dealing with classified material,” began Clinton. She spoke of the ‘top secret,’ ‘secret,’ and ‘confidential’ headers -- “nothing -- and I will repeat this, and this is verified in the report by the Department of Justice, none of the emails sent or received by me had such a header.”

Altogether, questions about Clinton’s email scandal dominated about one-third of the questioning, even as she attempted to play up her involvement in the killing of Osama Bin Laden and her experience as Secretary of State.

The lines of questioning during Donald Trump’s part of the night highlighted the stark gaps in his military and foreign policy. Many questions asked for “specifics,” and he gave few to none.

Trump adamantly criticized the Obama/Clinton foreign policy at every turn, especially when asked questions about his own policies, a tactic he employs regularly.

The Republican nominee again gave a false answer to the question of whether he supported the Iraq war, claiming never to have done so. The falsity of his claim is well established. He also stumbled, but eventually stood by a 2013 tweet that said women serving in the military would ultimately lead to sexual assault.

When Lauer put forward Trump’s statement that he had more knowledge of how to beat ISIS than the generals, he described U.S. generals as “reduced to rubble” under Obama and presented the often-repeated but ultimately ludicrous “take the oil” plan as policy.

Trump refused to give any specifics because: “[he has] a substantial chance of winning, but if I win I don’t want to broadcast [the plan]”

The fundamental differences between a Clinton and Trump foreign and military policy were made additionally clear last night. One will be “steady” and the other “unpredictable.” It’s pretty easy to guess which is which.