Last night was the first of three Presidential debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and the whole affair went exactly as expected.

I knew Hillary would likely appear as she usually does, poised if stiff, and would at least have answers to the questions asked. I knew Donald Trump would tell outright lies even when fact-checked by moderator Lester Holt or Hillary Clinton. I knew he would appear as he always does: a blustery, rambling, and perpetually offensive flaming hot Cheeto.

It's almost comical, but certainly horrific, that career politician Hillary Rodham Clinton finally arrives as the Democratic nominee in the general election just to face off in a boss battle with clementine named Donald Trump. That her historic nomination is touted as further proof of the status quo, while Trump who has zero political experience but multiple bankruptcies literally promises to return America to former "greatness" directly tied to the status quo of racism, sexism and xenophobia. And that this is an actual competition. Has the world always been this unfair and this ridiculous? Maybe so, and I'm just paying more attention this time.

Before the debate, media figures compared notes on what each candidate needed to do to call the night as a win. Already expectations for Clinton are far higher than her counterpart, proven easily by the fact that Trump has made it this far, sailing only on his spotty business record and his hatred of everyone who isn't him. What Hillary needs to do to win would be fine-- even fair--up against any other Republican candidate. But next to Trump, who only has to appear presidential for ninety, uninterrupted minutes, it's laughably, infuriatingly unbalanced.

While Hillary had to appear personable and honest, offering up answers for the often mentioned email server and her judgment, Donald Trump simply had to keep it together for ninety uninterrupted minutes.

And he couldn't do it.

This wasn't unexpected to anyone who's been paying attention. Hillary Clinton was the clear winner of the debate, but that seems to matter very little when she could win everywhere against Donald Trump except where it really matters: the election.

For the people who will be voting for Trump in about a month, this debate doesn't matter. The debates aren't for me or anyone else who already knows who they're voting for. I watched so I could write this about it and also because I'm trying to be politically aware and active, despite how much it pains me to watch Donald Trump speak (I only survived this debate because of Twitter). This debate, and the next two that follow, are meant for people still (inexplicably, it feels) on the fence about who to vote for. But what they saw was what we've been seeing.

Peppering his responses with resounding sniffs directly into his microphone, Trump dodged questions and dropped new favorite words like "cyber" (what is cyber?), interrupted Hillary constantly, and lied repeatedly even when fact-checked. In the middle of a characteristically meandering and nonsensical rant, he declared his temperament superior to Hillary's, and earned laughter from me, my dog, the audience. And Hillary of course, who laughed, smiled big and did a shoulder shimmy before leaping into her response.

While I'd call the debate a definite win for Hillary, there are plenty who will disagree simply because this is the Donald Trump they're voting for anyway. It's cynical and depressing, but no less true. There are people who agree too ardently with Donald Trump to abandon him now, who believe fully in his promises to build a wall on the border and ban Muslims from the country, who think women are pigs with blood coming from their wherever, and don't care one bit about facts or basic human decency.

Whatever the debate was, to these people it will just be Donald Trump being Donald Trump. They'll vote for him anyway. The questions barely covered Trump's racist and misogynistic rhetoric, and what was covered was just more of the same. When questioned about his part in the birther movement and his reams of sexist comments. As for birtherism, he did everyone (but especially black people) a favor by insisting our first black president wasn't born her even years after he was elected. And those comments about Rosie O'Donnell? Totally justified.

Anything else lobbed at him, he simply ignored. When Holt told him stop and frisk was deemed unconstitutional in New York, Trump just said, "You're wrong". When asked to specify plans to help the economy, he didn't. When confronted about being sued for housing discrimination, all Trump could say was that it was fine because he was sued and settled alongside a bunch of other businesses. When Hillary said he didn't pay his taxes, Trump didn't refute her. He did say, it "would have been squandered" if he did pay. So....there's that.

Meanwhile Hillary Clinton, career politician with years upon years of experience, clearly prepared for the debate as if she were facing someone on her level and not Donald Trump. She did what she was supposed to do, mainly by allowing Trump to say and do what he usually does, hanging himself in the process. She threw in some smiles for people who thought she didn't smile enough and responded to each question clearly and specifically. She interrupted Trump a few times, but still far less than he did her, and maintained a calm and collected demeanor throughout. She handled well the mentions of her own glaring issues like her email scandal, "superpredator" remarks, and turned Trump's criticisms of her stamina into a means to tout her strong political record. More than one GIF was born out of her performance.

Next to him, she was perfect.

This was what was always going to happen because Donald Trump is no more qualified for the presidency than when he first announced his candidacy. He's clarified nothing, planned nothing, and hasn't even been able to rein in the worst of his own bad habits. Meanwhile Hillary continues to work, and prepare, and fight against someone who shouldn't have made it this far to begin with.

Hillary Clinton did exactly what she was supposed to do, and she may have convinced a few undecided voters to steer clear of Trump in November, but that won't make this election any less competitive. It won't take back the months we've spent watching a huge portion of the country (nearly half) throw their support behind an unapologetic racist and misogynist. And it won't keep those people from voting from him either, because to their eyes Donald Trump performed as he always does: perfectly.