Tensions between Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been flooding the media, especially after the recent Debate broke a 60 year United States record. Over 80 million people watched the face off, and even Twitter had a record-breaking response to the Debate.

As an actual viewer, I can definitely say that Clinton claimed victory. Yet the question stands: Is it enough? Before the Debate, Clinton was taking on serious damage in media, the most relevant hits regarding her pneumonia case earlier this month. As ridiculous and exaggerated as the issue was, it was still effective in producing negative media coverage. Ross Douthat, a writer for the New York Times, regards this issue as a "gray swan" for Republican candidate Donald Trump—a small infraction that slowly starts to depress Clinton's voters.

There has been a good number of infractions powering the Republican convention, from attacks of terror in Europe to bombings and cop killings here in the U.S. Clinton's pneumonia, as painfully over-dramatized as the incident was, resembled a metaphorical "road bump" strong enough to rattle the Democratic voters of America. Douthat explains it quite well.

"There have been fewer such events since, but Clinton's hidden-then-acknowledged pneumonia is a perfect example of what Trump needs. ...it just feeds into two of Trump's narratives: alpha-male power versus actual physical weakness...and bold outsider truth telling versus reflexive elite cover-up."
-- Ross Douthat, "How Trump Might Win", The New York Times

Perhaps the one thing that's concerning America is the big question: will he actually win? After examinations of the available polling data posted by RealClearPolitics, Clinton seems to be pulling through first place (LA Times/USC Tracking being the only poll with Trump in the lead as of Friday, September 30th). Even though she seems to be winning, there's a lot pinned against her, most especially third party runner Gary Johnson, who is currently influencing and encouraging a good number of independents. He's a Libertarian, which poses as a worthy alternative for Millennials and other independents compared to the current leaders in the Republican and Democratic parties. However, a lot of what Johnson supports isn't exactly an ideal to liberal independents: he's a supporter of fracking, against gun restrictions, and sees the unreasonably low minimum wage here in the U.S as a "non-issue".

Besides Johnson, Clinton also faces a massive amount of unenthusiastic supporters. Many of Trump's supporter's, as much as we wish to deny it, are far more enthusiastic over Trump than Democrats are of their own presidential candidate. Michael Moore, author, filmmaker, and critic of American political society (known more specifically for his documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11"), summed up the situation perfectly:

"No Democrat, and certainly no independent, is waking up on November 8th excited to run out and vote for Hillary the way they did the day Obama became president or when Bernie was on the primary ballot."
-- Michael Moore, "5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win", Michaelmoore.com

It's obvious there's plenty to worry about this coming election, but whether or not Trump will actually win is still a mystery. The best thing that Democrats and independents can do are hope for the best, yet prepare, undoubtedly, for the worst.