Apprehension, fear, angst, and anxiety have gripped many minority voters since he ran against 16 other contestants in the Republican primaries. The thought of Donald Trump becoming President of the United States continues to make many people fiddle-footed. Muslims are affright; legal and illegal immigrants are scarified, and many Americans are not sure what manner of sword the New-York billionaire businessman will brandish if he becomes the occupier of the White House for the next four years.
Is he serious about the rhetoric to ban all manner of people from coming into the United States? Are his promises to build a wall to ward off non-Americans from the land-of-the-free and the home-of-the-brave gravid with granite? Nobody knows for sure. He has been all over the map on many issues. And some are determined that by Tuesday, November 8, the crowning of Trump as the US President will remain a pipe dream.
Trump is in a dirty and filthy battle with Democratic torchbearer, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a lawyer, who has been in public service for about 30 years. Hillary has been the First Lady of Arkansas when her husband, Bill, was Governor of the Southern State for 12 years. She became the US’s First Lady when Bill seized power from George H. Bush in a close election in 1992. She was a Senator from the State of New York for six years; and the Secretary of State under President Barak Obama for four years.
Few are in doubt of Hillary’s vast experience and deep knowledge of how the world works. Her network stretches from oil-rich Arab peninsula to the heart of Nigeria’s Niger Delta twinning around all of Europe. Outside of America, Hillary is a celebrity. Nobody questions her temperament and wherewithal to function as the Commander-In-Chief. But many, however, including some of her close disciples have doubts about her trustworthiness. If she loses Tuesday’s election to Trump who has no public service experience, it will be because Americans don’t think she can be trusted. The perception that she is sleazy and corrupt hangs heavy on her head. Perception, they say, is everything.
Hillary is a typical politician. She knows how to answer a “Yes” question by saying “No”, and then deny ever saying “Yes”. She and Bill have been enmeshed in insinuations and innuendoes of wrongdoing for many years. From the Whitewater real estate fallout, to Vince Foster’s mysterious death, and then Monica Lewinsky sex scandal, the couple has had its share of humiliation in public service. But this power-couple can govern. At the end of Bill’s term as president in 2001, America had a surplus of $236bn. Bill left office with an approval rating of 55 per cent. Up till now, he is the most popular former US President alive. Hillary may have truly carved a niche for herself through many lofty things she has done in the past, but upon the plume of her husband’s fame she is riding.
Those who are pulling for Hillary are tone-deaf to any accusations of scandal or wrongdoing on their paladin. In the African-American community, Hillary is a darling. In the Hispanic world, she is beloved. When Trump in the early part of his campaign misspoke that “Mexicans are rapists, and murderers”, Hispanics were livid and mortified. They are now waiting for the Election Day to help shatter the dream of their “hater” Donald Trump. Trump is elitist and oligarchic. His campaign slogan is “Make America Great Again”, but his rallies have been filled with men and women donning t-shirts with inscriptions: “Make America White Again”. Racists are attracted to him because of the Doctrine of Isolationism he propagates.
If Trump loses this election, it will not be because he has not fought hard enough; he may have dug his own hole with his mouth. He has tongue-lashed friends and foes; he has once disparaged the Pope. Trump says it like it is; and that’s why many Americans who are already tired of politicians’ double-speak on many issues, are swarming towards him. If Trump has any plan to Make America Great Again, most Americans have neither seen or heard it clearly. In world affairs, Trump is considered depthless. He is big on rhetoric and short on substance.
This year’s election has dumped its portion of scandals and accusations on Trump. But it is bewildering that with all the women-groping drama caught on tape, reckless sex escapades accusations, suspicion of misogyny, mockery of people from all walks of life including his own party men, and the refusal to release his tax returns, Hillary still can’t put him away.
That the two candidates are neck-and-neck in public opinion polls with Trump leading in a few is surprising to pundits. With her experience, knowledge, and a surrogate popular incumbent President Obama stumping for her, why is Hillary not able to shut down Trump? Are sexism and misogyny on the ballot? In hushed voices, American men and surprisingly a percentage of women are not sold out to the idea of a woman President.
Sixty-three of 142 nations studied by the World Economic Forum have had a female head of government or state at some point in the 50 years up to 2014. The US is not numbered among them. A recent Pew Research Centre report on women and leadership found that 37 per cent of Americans believe that the nation is just not ready to elect female leaders. But 51 per cent of the US private wealth is controlled by women, and women account for over 50 per cent of all stock ownership in the US. Women control more than 60 per cent of all personal wealth in the US; and they also account for 85 per cent of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care. Women drive the US economy, yet some Americans resist a woman to be in the driving seat of the Presidency.
Trump is raking in a big momentum four days to the election. Polls are tightening nationally and some battleground states are inching closer to putting their faith in Trump. What Hillary has going for her is the Electoral College system. Big states with big electoral vote cash-ins are solidly Democratic.
Whoever becomes the US President needs 270 electoral votes. Hillary’s Easy Wins are 22 states totalling 263 electoral votes. Her safe states are 21 with 259 electoral votes. They are California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine (3), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), Michigan (16), Minnesota (10), New Jersey (14), New Mexico (5), New York (29), Oregon (7), Pennsylvania (20), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Virginia (13), Washington (12), Washington D.C. (3), Wisconsin (10). The probable state is New Hampshire with four electoral votes.
Trump Easy Wins are 19 states with a total of 155 electoral votes, his safe states are 15 with 87 electoral votes. They are Alabama (9), Arkansas (6), Idaho (4), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Montana (3), Nebraska (5), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), West Virginia (5), Wyoming (3). Trump’s probable states are four with 68 electoral votes. They are Indiana (11), Missouri (10), South Carolina (9), Texas (38).Tossup states are 10 States with 120 Electoral Votes. Tossup states leaning Clinton are Colorado (9), Nevada (6), North Carolina (15) totalling 30 electoral votes. Trump has one tossup state of Utah and one district Maine with one electoral vote. Too-Close-to-Call are six states with 83 electoral votes. They are Alaska (3), Arizona (11), Florida (29), Georgia (16), Iowa (6), Ohio (18).
Who will triumph in Tuesday’s election? We may not know until about midnight November 9. But the Electoral College system favours Hillary. If she pulls through, she’ll become America’s 45th President and first woman to rule the most powerful country in the world. Shall we begin to salute: Madame President? We’ll wait until Tuesday.
Punch
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