Trump and Biden on the road to the White House.

 Trump and Biden on the road to the White House.

Last night the whole of America was subjected to one of the most controversial, loudest, grossest, vilest and most disgraceful pre-election double-headers any American TV audience had ever seen. The two gladiators brandished their shields, eye-balled each other with barely concealed fury and acrimony in their eyes and then the spectacular charade proceeded. The verbal fight was on. Both men were seething and boiling over with a very personal resentment of each other and several scores to settle. It was the most repulsive spectacle any of us could remember because we knew what we'd be getting in November. 

For the last couple of years Donald Trump has been perhaps the most divisive, obnoxious, tactless and ludicrously forthright man ever to occupy the position of President of the United States of America. He has stolen the very soul of America, a loud-mouthed, outspoken and dangerously extreme public figure who would profess to have his country's best interests at heart but then spoils it all with wildly inaccurate statements of the obvious, exaggerated promises to build walls and alienating any country who doesn't agree with his bombastic guarantees. Or have we simply underestimated Trump and he is indeed a paragon of virtue, oozing with an under-rated intellect and a vast intelligence? 

The truth of course is that in November America will be going to the polls to vote in the next President of the United States and its options are painfully limited. Do they go with their gut instinct and re-elect a once cut-throat businessman who has been declared bankrupt on more than one occasion or do they plump for a seemingly quiet, modest and respectable man who simply wants to get rid of Trump as soon as possible? 

It was now 60 years ago that America was faced by the straight choice of either Richard Nixon or John F. Kennedy, two men who swore allegiance to the Stars and Stripes while always concentrating on the bigger picture. Nixon, who would, in later years, attract the kind of notoriety that even he could never have envisaged, faced Kennedy, a bag of nerves and sweat profusely pouring from his forehead in tributaries. Meanwhile, Kennedy was the handsome, charming, matinee idol, a female heart-throb and the man to lead America to yet another promised land. 

Nixon would become the ultimate villain of the piece, a wicked monster of a figure, the man who was trapped in the most salacious political scandal of modern times. When British broadcasting legend Sir David Frost reduced Nixon to a gibbering, crying and weeping shadow of his former self, you knew that Nixon's days were numbered. Watergate was that familiar tale of naughty, behind the scenes shenanigans, financial deceit and outrageous skulduggery. Then Nixon was driven out of the White House and none really mourned his departure if only because he'd broken all the rules. 

But now we have a President who of course is renowned for his exemplary diplomacy, a man of such remarkable grandiloquence and flair for the succinct, clear sentence that we may have to defer to his flawless genius as a public speaker. His magical aura and patriotic bravura are unparalleled and he may go down in history as a master of all crafts. Donald Trump though may not be the man the Americans were hoping for when they were looking for a man with stylish authority and unmistakable composure. Not when the chips are down although he may decide he wants to have another go at this President lark.

Back in 1963 though one man thought he'd fulfilled the American dream when he drove through Dallas, Texas on a euphoric motorcade through ticker taped streets. John F. Kennedy came from a well do, wealthy family and he captured the hearts of every female in the USA. Then loud gunfire shots split a crisp November air and Kennedy was dead. The conspiracy theories flooded out, accusations were aired and Lee Harvey Oswald was the alleged perpetrator of this most evil crime. America was shocked for the rest of that life changing decade and would later experience some of the most grotesque race riots for as long as anybody could remember. 

Nixon, his opponent on that far off day in 1960, would slip miserably into obscurity, vanishing into a shamefaced anonymity and a fiery pit of disrepute. Then America would have to contend with a whole rogue gallery of Presidents with obviously contrasting personalities. There was Gerald Ford, a man of honest intentions and principles but never quite the President who would leave behind any lasting legacy. There was Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who once brokered the unforgettable Middle East peace agreement where Israel shook hands with a rich Arab sheik. All was briefly sweetness and light at the time. 

There followed George Bush Senior who held over the reins to his son George Bush who then got all tangled up in the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Then poor Tony Blair was unwittingly dragged into a skirmish that degenerated into a full-scale conflict. Then Bill Clinton got the green light before Clinton's private infidelities left an unsightly stain on America. The Clinton denials and then the humbling admission were, unfortunately the laughing stock of the world.

And so we return to the present day. We have Donald Trump, one of the most provocative, unconventional, iconoclastic, contentious and overbearing Presidents of all time. Trump was the man who made his fortune and millions before discovering that his country needed a proper leader, a natural crusader, a champion of the underclass, a builder of walls. Now Trump is caught up in the most horrendous global pandemic and his natives are restless. He still though thinks he's a vision of perfection. 

Last night the beauty contest between Biden and Trump was a sight for sore eyes. Trump looked as if he'd spent far too long in the dressing room since his hair, normally the source of much ridicule and parody, was once again on show. The bright orange streaks are still in evidence but last night Trump once again resembled the surefire winner of a reality TV show or maybe he was auditioning for a role in some yet to be made soap opera. There were darker, wavier streaks across the front of Trump's hair which looked as if he'd emptied the contents of some hair spray bottle but it was hard to tell. 

Then there was Joe Biden, an apparently mild-mannered and courteous man who would probably have just wanted to get the evening out of the way as soon as possible. Biden has the gentle, avuncular air of a modest American who would have much preferred a barbecue by the ranch, a family gathering, sweet corns ready to be eaten and just a couple of Budweiser beers to swallow before putting his feet up.

Biden is older than Trump although whoever thought the age of any politician had any bearing on the outcome of any election? Last night was a victory for nobody in particular. Essentially Biden and Trump simply tolerated each other and then got down to the dirty business. Then the resentment and animosity poured out of both men's gun holsters. The insults bordered on the childish, Biden at one point just told his adversary to keep his mouth shut and the bloodbath became very gory. 

So it is that on a November night an American election will be coming our way again and it may be as well to keep our collective heads down. It's either Trump and four more years of apparent absurdity or Biden a man who looks as if he may know what he's talking about but may have problems in articulating his policies. Yes folks, it's election time and it could get very nasty and confrontational again and again.We would rather it not to be so but as long as nobody gets hurt. Gentlemen, let's try and shake hands.and try to be friends. It may not be easy but there can be no harm in trying.