The debate for the US presidential elections: a sad symbol of American politics

The debate for the presidential elections of the United States highlighted the transformation of American politics, now very far from the characteristics that saw its two major parties on similar positions and with few differences. The personalization of politics, to the detriment of programs, has established itself in parallel with the progressive radicalization of the most extreme positions, based more and more on preconceptions and politically incorrect ideas. The increasingly exasperated populism has caused a retreat in the ways of confrontation, also caused by an emptying of politics and, above all, of the value of politicians, increasingly aligned towards low values. This process has affected both sides, albeit more clearly the Republican Party, which has been emptied of its conservative aspect from the inside to embrace the themes of movements like the Tea Party, of which Trump is the tragic product. In the Democrats this involution was more nuanced, but the impression of being a party linked to finance and major economic interests led to the desertion of its constituents from the polls, resulting in the defeat of an unpresentable candidate like Clinton. The moderation of the Democrats has created a rift with the left of the party, which appears to be held together only by legitimate opposition to the figure of the president in office. With these premises, the debate between the two candidates respected the forecasts of a confrontation where the analyzes on the respective programs were lacking in favor of a series of mutual insults and rudeness, which gave nothing to the general debate and no indication for those who still have to to decide. Trump blamed the opponent’s tolerance the most and had moments of great difficulty, while Biden showed, going against the odds, a remarkable self-control, which allowed him a test, in the end, better than that of his opponent. However, it must be reiterated that the two have embarked on a personal duel, without explaining how they intend to govern and with what programs, an unworthy spectacle for the position they will hold, completely useless for voters and international public opinion. Certainly Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacists, if it is a call to vote from a certain part of deep America, on the other hand may constitute a call to seats for the often absent African Americans in favor of Joe Biden; but the most disturbing thing remains the possible rejection of a defeat by the president in office: a scenario never seen in American politics, which evokes a situation of extreme danger precisely because of the presence of such an exasperated radicalization. Progressive networks and newspapers gave Biden the victory for his self-control as an expert politician in the face of Trump’s gratuitous provocations, mirroring the conservative media gave Trump the victory, but, in reality, both sides are aware that the debate has not moved a single vote, even if some analyzes say that the majority of viewers were Democrats and even the undecided were superior to the Republicans in front of the televisions and among the undecided viewers there would have been greater favor towards Biden. However, these are unsafe data, as opposed to the collection of funding for the respective electoral campaigns, where Biden has a clear advantage, which, moreover, does not guarantee him victory, as well as the polls that give him ahead: the memory of the defeat of the super-favorite Clinton is an ever-present warning.