09/11/2016
Sadly, it is almost impossible not to know that there is a US presidential election in progress, with the winner likely to be apparent by the time this nation wakes from its sleep.
As to any preferences, one if minded of Dr Johnson's comment that there was "no settling the point of ". Both candidates seem equally ghastly, only in different ways â illustrating once again the strange inability of developed nations to select people of quality for to lead their governments.
Sam Hooper records his
abiding view of the presidential race: 319 million people and it came down to Trump and Clinton. Another
commentator advises Americans to stockpile snacks and hide in the basement with Netflix for four years. Or move to Canada.
We have, nevertheless, avoided any comment on the election. One only has to recall how amateurish and superficial US commentators sound when they venture into UK politic to be aware of the pitfalls of analysing US politics, when one has no real (or any) understanding of the undertones and the subtleties. We must sound as amateur to American ears as they do to us when they venture into our domain.
Of the two candidates, though, it is possible that Trump is more Brexit-friendly, although one has learnt over time that, when it comes to the EU, the United States is not and never has been a friend of ours, the clumsiness of its interventions matched only by the most appalling ignorance on the matter.
This, after all, is the country which has its State Department
declare on its official website that "the European Union was founded in 1948" and that it was only set up "to democratically legislate for matters of joint interest to participating countries".
Meanwhile, we have our own continuing problems with the referendum, which is being about as intelligently reported as the US election â on the UK side by largely the same set of characters.
With that, we can at least have some idea of the sort of pain Americans are going through. Generally, our politicians â and certainly our media - are as inept as those on the other side of the Atlantic.
The one good thing about this election, however, is that it will soon be over â even if, in American politics, the end of one campaign simply marks the start of the next, with never-ending campaigning being the order of the day. For us, on the other hand, we have another couple years of Brexit mania.
I don't know whether it is a sign, but as I write, it is snowing heavily and our world is turning white as it settles. Global warming is going the same way as Brexit, it seems.
