The American mood is difficult in a time rife with worrying about the future and concern about "the other", amid resentment against the political establishment, fear of terror, and a sense of escapism regarding the definition and purpose of the US superpower and its responsibilities on the international arena. The general mood reflects the lack of confidence in the Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. This week, the Democratic National Convention focused its efforts on marketing Hillary the approachable woman, in the hope this win over the hearts of the Americans who have not been comfortable with her "robot-like" demeanor. Indeed, Hillary had worked hard to enter history with cold calculations, giving little care to her lack of charisma, compared to her husband former president Bill Clinton. Hillary is an experienced candidate who has assumed public office, climbing up the ladders of power gradually and with tact, forging close ties to the poles of the ruling US establishment in the military and the civilian institutions, inside and outside government. She is the antithesis of the Republican nominee Donald Trump, who snatched the nomination against the will of most traditional Republicans and jumped on the White House-bound train amid dismissal by the political class and intellectuals. But the media grew fond of covering Trump's entertaining and sensational news, or so they thought until the joke stopped being funny. A mysterious class of Americans had turned against the elitist class, proving that solidarity with the establishment is a failed bet. I say mysterious because the followers of Donald Trump are a combination of angry and scared voters, as well as xenophobes, isolationists, and those who are eager to teach the politicians in Washington a lesson. Many are also blue-collar workers, who accuse Washington of exploiting them, and are in awe of Trump's wealth, success, and lifestyle as though he was of the working class like them despite having received a one-million-dollar check from his father at the start of his life. Yet a segment of white-collar educated Americans will vote Trump because they cannot stand Hillary, and see her as an extension of Barack Obama and her husband Bill Clinton. There are also Americans who are categorically opposed to turning the Clintons into a ruling dynasty in America, especially after Bush's dreams of becoming one were shattered.
The calculus behind the election of the 45th president of the United States is then related to the personality, ambitions, and domestic concerns of the American people, rather than foreign policy, at least so far. Interestingly, it is Donald Trump who has brought in national security, terrorism, and immigration into the calculations of American voters, manipulating their fears and concerns. This week, Trump set a new precedent by inviting Russia to hack his opponent's email and expose her scandals. Donald Trump wants the Russian president Vladimir Putin to be an honorary voter in the US elections, and has praised him repeatedly and hinted they would agree on many issues. Trump wants to stoke fear of groups like ISIS to present himself as the president who will shut down immigration and protect America from foreigners, taking isolationism to a new terrifying level.
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