Frailty and strength in American politics
AN inch is all that separated Donald Trump from assassination. An inch is all that separated America from a kind of tragedy not seen since the deaths of two Kennedy brothers, one as president and the other as a candidate. An inch is all that kept political violence from upending the will of democracy.
Although that terrible outcome was averted, Americans who attended a political rally tragically ended up dead or injured. Despite this depressing reality, Americans are rallying during this moment. It’s what Americans do best. Rallying for the speedy recovery of Donald Trump and the victims of this tragedy. Rallying for the end to political violence. Rallying to come together as a nation.
But where does the election go from here? I like to cite history in this column (as do others) to frame for readers what past elections can tell us about today. But nothing comes close to what we’ve witnessed in American politics these last three weeks. The Democratic Party has wrestled with real questions involving President Biden’s cognitive abilities. The Republican Party is now wrestling with their candidate’s safety. Americans are wondering if Biden will still be on the ballot come November and are grateful that Trump survived an assassination attempt.
Americans see the presidency as the very best representation of who they are to the world. Ronald Reagan tending to his ranch. Abraham Lincoln, the rail splitter. George Washington’s honesty when confronted by his angry father about cutting down the family’s cherry tree. America is a melting pot of hundreds of different cultures and thousands of different ideas with millions more opinions. Reaching consensus is often contentious.
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