[HP8753]

I think he is playing the long game. He really only had to hold his own and come across as "Presidential" in this debate.
There are many things he could have hit back hard at, But didn't.
The main one I was yelling at the TV about was when she brought up the Housing Crisis and laying out all the bad things that happened to normal citizens.
He easily could have hit back hard with the fact it all goes back to Democrats starting the train(Jimmy Carter and Dem congress).
And Hildebeast's husband and his Housing Sec. Coumo cutting the brakes and stoking the firebox.
Sprinkle in some info about how many times the Republicans tried to stop that train, or at least slow it down and were blocked by the Dems for good measure.
I think he could have really drove a nail in the coffin with that one.

[Pox]

He easily could have hit back hard with the fact it all goes back to Democrats starting the train(Jimmy Carter and Dem congress).

Technically correct.

However. you have to balance that truism with the fact the Mr. Trump is attempting to sway a significant portion of voters who benefited from that legislation, and pointing fingers at a specific subset of voters is not a good idea at this juncture.

Always remember that the bulk of voters do not have details that are hashed out on forums like FR, and do not care about said details.