I WONDER if you, like me, are conflicted over the result of the US election?
We are witnessing the most extraordinary scenes that threaten not just democracy, but stability, too.
The two sides are not just political competitors, they are sworn enemies, and hate has regrettably wormed its way into the America psyche, the divisions laid bare for all to see.
At the time of writing, there is no clear winner, although the momentum appears to be swinging Biden’s way.
The outcome now hinges on the narrowest of margins in several states.
Whoever prevails, it won’t be the predicted landslide.
It’s clear that the polling organisations, the pundits, the politicians and the mainstream media got it wrong.
This is the third time, in my experience, where predictions have gone seriously awry.
Let’s not forget the Brexit vote and the 2019 general election here.
In the US, evidence suggests that Trump supporters, afraid of being ridiculed for backing a President so reviled, hid their true intentions.
Combined with an extremely partisan press – it’s estimated that 92 per cent of the US media are anti-Trump – Biden was given a relatively easy ride, despite his encroaching senility.
The fact that he will scrape home – if he does – will raise many questions in the Democrat camp.
It’s extraordinary that, despite Covid-19, racial disturbances and Trump’s trenchant views in areas that most politicians fear to tread, more people have voted for him than last time.
A surge in the Hispanic vote helped him win Florida, despite his ‘Mexican wall’, and in California Trump garnered more black votes this week than Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Whoever wins, this election is another example where prejudice drowned out the public mood.