LONDON ¨C The outcome of the U.S. presidential primaries was supposed to be Hillary Clinton, the wife of an ex-president, versus Jeb Bush, the son and brother of other ex-presidents: both worthy but somewhat boring candidates, and both definitely members of the ¡°establishment.¡± Less than a week before the first primary, the Iowa caucuses, Bush is dead in the water and even Clinton is looking vulnerable.
In Bush¡¯s place as the Republican front-runner is Donald Trump, billionaire property developer, TV reality star and demagogue, who told a campaign rally last weekend, ¡°I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn¡¯t lose voters.¡± His arrogance is not misplaced: To the despair of the Republican Party¡¯s hierarchy, he probably has the party¡¯s presidential nomination locked up.
Three months ago, Democrats thought this would virtually guarantee Clinton¡¯s election, as a majority of Americans would refuse to vote for such a crude clown. That was probably correct, but it¡¯s irrelevant if Clinton doesn¡¯t get the Democratic nomination. Ominously, her ¡°socialist¡± rival, Bernie Sanders, is neck and neck with her in Iowa and clearly ahead in the next primary, in New Hampshire.
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