In a sane, normal and functional democracy — and even in a mildly dysfunctional one, which is a widespread condition these days — Donald Trump’s appalling performance in Tuesday night’s presidential debate would not just have ensured his electoral defeat but ended his career as a public figure. But — and you know where I’m going here — we do not live in such a democracy.
Whether we live in one at all, indeed, is up for debate. Yes, we still hold elections that are not entirely predictable in advance (although, way too much of the time, they are), and whose winners get to assume positions of authority. But the popular superstition that purportedly “free and fair” elections between rival gangs of millionaires equates to democracy is one of the most dangerous of American delusions. We went from two wildly unpopular geriatric candidates stuffed with dark money, who transparently did not reflect majority opinion on a wide range of issues, to just one of those plus a last-minute substitute, chosen in desperation with no semblance of a democratic process, who has ridden a wave of exuberance based on nothing more than novelty and sheer relief. Those emotions are highly understandable, but do we have to pretend that anything about that is healthy?
