Print 
PDF
NBC's Matt Lauer will host what NBC is calling the "Commander-in-Chief" Forum tonight live on NBC.
The live audience will be mostly veterans, NBC says.
Lauer, however, is closely associated with the Clintons and has allegedly been a donor to the Clinton Foundation.
Wouldn't that be a bit of a conflict?
NBC explains---there's no problem.
"Matt Lauer," NBC explains, "will not be moderating a debate, but rather interviewing the two candidates."
NBC says, "During the one-hour forum, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be on stage back to back, taking questions on national security, military affairs, and veteran's issues..."
Some of us "little people" out here might ask, "Who will be deciding which questions are asked?"
"And to whom?"
No question Matt Lauer has a strong bias toward Hillary.
Trump has faced intense scrutiny from Clinton and the press over his readiness to serve as commander in chief of our armed forces. This issue will likely be raised by Lauer, Clinton, or one of their surrogates.
Yesterday, Trump received a written endorsement from 88 top retired military personnel.
Retired Lt. Gen Michael T. Flynn, who has been advising Trump on military matters, told the New York Times, "We had to stop accepting names because we were running out of time."
This is the open letter from military leaders:
OPEN LETTER FROM MILITARY LEADERS
The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long-overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy. As retired senior leaders of America’s military, we believe that such a change can only be made by someone who has not been deeply involved with, and substantially responsible for, the hollowing out of our military and the burgeoning threats facing our country around the world. For this reason, we support Donald Trump’s candidacy to be our next Commander-in-Chief.
For the past eight years, America’s armed forces have been subjected to a series of ill- considered and debilitating budget cuts, policy choices and combat operations that have left the superb men and women in uniform less capable of performing their vital missions in the future than we require them to be.
Simultaneously, enemies of this country have been emboldened, sensing weakness and irresolution in Washington and opportunities for aggression at our expense and that of other freedom-loving nations.
In our professional judgment, the combined effect is potentially extremely perilous. That is especially the case if our government persists in the practices that have brought us to this present pass.
For this reason, we support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries and restore law and order domestically. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same.
Their names are listed below the letter. This is a link to the letter and the signatures.
While Trump received endorsements from top brass, a study by Fortune Magazine of campaign donations through the initial months of the general election campaign showed the Army and Navy were among the top employers listed on individual contributions to Trump's campaign.
Trump issued a statement thanking the signatories for their support:
"I thank each of them for their service and their confidence in me to serve as commander in chief. Keeping our nation safe and leading our armed forces is the most important responsibility of the presidency."
Hopefully, America will become better informed tonight in spite of the built-in bias.
Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Charles Yancey, wrote, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Be Informed. Be Prayerful.