Every presidential election seems momentous, but it would be hard to exaggerate what’s at stake in this one. The voters who have already cast ballots in record numbers, and the tens of millions more who will do so on Tuesday, might be making the most fateful political choice of their lives. It isn’t just about choosing the better candidate. Also in the balance is a more fundamental question: what, if anything, does the US expect of its system of government?
Deciding between normal politics and the upheaval of the past four years is only part of it. The choice is also between a politics that aspires to persuade, unite and move forward, and a politics that accepts and even celebrates dysfunction. If, after everything the country has learnt during Donald Trump’s first term, America settles for the latter, its prospects seem bleak indeed...
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