The real test for the republic

It’s always intimidating to write for a readership more clued up than you are. I file this on the very Tuesday the international commentariat have relentlessly claimed is the most consequential election day in American history. Now, in my ignorance, I suspect this superlative reflects the blinkered vanity of the present, and I’ve braved expressing my trust on the record that the country will ultimately survive either dismaying outcome. Yet only you know if an anti-climactic calm still prevails down thousands of American Main Streets; if, rather, the cities are aflame, armed militias reign, supermarket shelves are bare, and the US army is trying to decide which side to back; or if something in-between has manifested, including the freakishly unexpected.

I will take refuge in a rare certainty. Whichever substandard candidate ends up winning 2025’s booby prize, he or she will inherit the world’s most gorily red balance sheet, leading a country at least $36 trillion in the hole.