The World in Hillary’s Hands

A candidate with weaknesses is the last barrier against political insanity.

Donald Trump is practically no longer stoppable. Even if he doesn’t have the absolute majority of delegates come the Republican Party Convention in the summer, party leadership will not be able to prevent his candidacy for president. A plausible alternative is lacking; Ted Cruz is as hated as he [Trump] is, John Kasich is too moderate and reasonable and, also, no other candidate has even nearly the same mandate at his command as that conferred by angry Trump voters.

Republicans only have the choice of putting a good face on this made game and closing ranks behind the billionaire, or going divided to certain defeat. They will probably decide on the first option because Trump is so volatile. His racist and populist positions are just the exaggerations of what other Republicans have preached for years.

Therefore, only Hillary Clinton is still standing between the impulsive, narcissistic and deeply authoritarian Trump and the White House. No one can take the Democratic nomination from the once first lady, senator and secretary of state, even if Bernie Sanders is not giving up the fight.

Clinton is not only the first woman with a chance at the U.S. presidency, she is also the most educated, experienced and professional of all the contenders of the preliminaries. But she really is not a good candidate. She wins few hearts and she is prone to verbal blunders and poor decisions, despite her self-proclaimed self-control. Many voters’ mistrust touches partially on sexism, with a man, ambition surely would not be a shortcoming, but it has good reason, too. Clinton conforms her opinions to the current mood and refuses to acknowledge her weaknesses and mistakes. Her handling of the email scandal is a lesson in bad crisis management.

And Clinton still makes many Republicans see red. She, as a clear favorite, will move on to the duel with Trump, but there is the danger that frustrated Democratic voters from the working class will fall to Trump’s macho behavior and brachial protectionism and better educated Republicans will assess him as being the lesser evil.

Trump will present himself from now on as much more moderate and deny much of what has been said up to now. At the same time, he will attack Clinton with all the malice he is capable of, and a charismatic swindler like him can walk this tightrope well.

Clinton has to decide whether she will mobilize Sanders’ supporters with a more leftist program or woo voters from the middle, who fear slogans on redistribution. President Barack Obama, with his decision to nominate Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court, professed a choice for the latter. Out of reasons of campaign tactics alone, Clinton should maintain this posture, because young people that believe in Sanders are mobilized just with the specter of Trump, and hopefully many other Americans as well, and because this man, who claims he doesn’t need any advisers on foreign policy besides himself, is a danger for the nation and the world. Whatever one thinks of Clinton, she alone can stop madness from ruling in the superpower that is the U.S.