theWhich country is the “leader of the free world”? Joe Biden’s latest fumble has been covered Embarrassed by those media people who are trying to protect him. But it is clear that the president’s mental and physical health will be an attacking ground for the right in the campaign. In America, transparency about leaders’ health has become a must. Self-controlled limits. And then there’s the Kamala Harris disaster: the deputy makes headlines above all because of the decrepit laughter with which she accompanies incomprehensible speeches. The age difference doesn’t make her any brighter than her boss.
On the other hand, there is an alarming lead for Donald Trump in the Republican polls. Ron DeSantis, despite economic successes in Florida government, lags behind the former president, who forgives much of the Republican base for the horror of the attack on the Capitol. As for the judicial problems, as long as they come from a politicized judiciary, they confirm the persecution theory of Trump’s followers.
It is America in a crisis of leadership precisely when its direction is necessary to keep alliances among democracies united and determined, in the West and the East. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping rejoice in front of pictures of Biden stumbling and falling. The speculation extends to the Allies. From Europe to Japan, every government friendly to America is wondering if in January 2025 there will be a sane and righteous leader in the White House loyal to coalitions of democracies.
A shake-up by the Democratic and Republican establishments to effect change in the nominations would be in the interest of America and the world. Is it still possible?
On the left is now an annoying filter: Robert Kennedy Jr. (son of Bob, who was assassinated in 1968), an ardent anti-environmentalist, ostracized by his family and the party; But with a staggering 19% approval rating in some polls. Kennedy stands no chance, but the majority of Democrats would like an alternative to Biden.
On the right there are whispers of a plan by some of the major lendersCrowd nominations in the primaries, but with a secret cease and desist agreement among all anti-Trump candidates in favor of the one candidate who would be able to defeat Donald. It’s the plan that failed in 2016. Whether this Republican establishment still matters or whether Trump has completed the transformation of the grand old party into an anti-elite, anti-establishment populist force remains to be seen. Finally there is the movementno label (“Unlabeled”) who works for an independent candidate; In US history, third-party candidates have caused someone to lose but never to have won.
If a wind of panic does not blow in Washington, an explanation can be found in a TV series, Diplomat. It is the story of a “higher” American ambassador in London who becomes an aging vice president who loses his bullets. Around the old boss we see a team that directs, guides, corrects and replaces him. It’s a theory deep country (“Deep State”), purged of the conspiratorial dimension and megalomania that Trump’s surroundings give expression to. It is the idea that America has a first-rate technocratic “dome”.: the National Security CouncilFrom the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department, intelligence and think tanks, and informal networks with big tech giants. This is the real government, which is partly formal, works according to constitutional provisions, and some congressional elites participate in it. In part it works behind the scenes and “committees” of democracy.
One can be reassured by these elements of solidity and continuity. It would be better if the new generations take this field to serve the country. Here we touch another sore spot. streetSchool and university are war zones between ideologies, not the place where civic spirit is formed. Only 38% of Americans today say they are proud of it. Few have the motive to serve a country which regards itself as a condensation of all the injustices and ills of the earth.
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