You Pick: In a national security and veterans forum broadcast last night on NBC, Hillary Clinton promised that, “We are not putting ground troops into Iraq ever again, and we are not putting ground troops into Syria.” She said, “We’re going to defeat ISIS without committing American ground troops.”

Clinton also defended the nuclear agreement with Iran saying she believes in “trust but verify.”

Clinton and Donald Trump both appeared, but not together. Trump introduced his case saying he should be commander in chief of the military because, “Well, I built a great company, I’ve been all over the world,” and, “the main thing is, I have great judgment.”

Admitting that he’s not fully up to speed on national security matters, Trump said, “I’m campaigning, I’m running a business, I’ve got a lot of hats right now.” He promised that if he’s elected he would be “100 percent” prepared by the time he takes office.”

At one moment, Trump blurted out that in his recent national security briefing, “There was one thing that shocked me,” suggesting that a decision made by President Obama and Clinton that amounted to “a total disaster.” He gave no specifics.

The Follow-up: NBC “Today” anchor Matt Lauer was taking fire immediately after the show from journalists and members of the public who said he wasted time on Clinton’s email problems and failed to challenge Trump, or correct him, on his lie that he was against the Iraq war when he had spoken in favor of it. Clinton has taken political hits because she — like Trump, if he tells the truth — supported the war.

Writer Jonathan Chait wrote immediately for New York magazine that, “The average undecided voter is getting snippets of news from television personalities like Lauer, who are failing to convey the fact that the election pits a normal politician with normal political failings against an ignorant, bigoted, pathologically dishonest authoritarian.”

Kill Power: Earlier in the day Trump promised that as president he would preside over an enormous jump in military spending that would enlist 90,000 new soldiers for the Army and build 75 ships for the Navy at a cost of $90 billion a year. He did not say how he would pay for that while also delivering promised tax cuts.

His position is similar to that taken four years ago by Mitt Romney, who called for more troops and ships without appreciating that the killing power of America’s smaller military is multiples of what it was when the force was much larger.

Trump also said that “immediately upon taking office” he would give the military 30 days to produce a plan of attack that would decisively eliminate the Islamic State.

The Numbers: Hillary Clinton has slipped seriously in the polls since her eight-point lead after the Democratic convention. She is still leading in the critical swing states and what would be the Electoral College vote, but she’s clearly under challenge from Trump. Nate Cohn reports for The NY Times “Upshot” that, “All considered, the balance of evidence plainly indicates that Mrs. Clinton has lost ground since mid-August. Whether she’s up by two or five points is another question. But it’s definitely not seven or eight anymore.”

Black Lives: Darren Seals, a 29-year-old who rose to prominence as an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement after the police shooting of a black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., was found dead in the remains of a burning car. No suspect or motive was immediately identified.

The Obit Page: Anna Dewdney, whose “Llama Llama” picture books have been a staple for little children, died Saturday of brain cancer at home in Vermont at age 50. Her first book, “Llama Llama Red Pajama,” was about a baby llama who goes through a brief crisis only to learn his mother will always be there. Dewdney said she got the idea driving her children, pointing out animals and making animal sounds until one day she spotted a llama, and didn’t know what sound a llama made.

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