Politics in America is very different to that of Australia. For a start, you need to be a very rich man or woman to even think of running for President and the contest will be decided between whoever is chosen to represent the Republican or Democrat political parties. Even gaining that nomination is a running battle over six months as multiple contenders go state to state gathering votes - and the magic number needed to head the party ticket - is 1237.
Almost a Melbourne cup field lined up for the Republican nomination this year and one by one they have fallen by the wayside. The unexpectedly clear leader right from the start was Donald Trump, a big, brash and rather uncouth billionaire who seemed to fascinate by issuing insults and making outrageous policy on the run. He is way ahead in the vote count, but gaining that vital 1237 may be out of reach because each state operates by different local rules.
Some state allocate delegate votes on a "winner takes all "basis, while others allocate them to the nominees on the ticket and leave the final sorting out to the national convention held in July. That is where things can get tricky. The rules allow the Republican Grandees to "broker " the selection of the candidate to run for office - and neither Donald Trump or his nearest rival - Ted Cruz - are favoured by the old guard of Republican elders. It is possible that they might think Trump a loser in a contest with Hillary Clinton and opt for a moderate like John Kasich.
It seems that Donald Trump is aware of that possibility and is trying to head it off by making thinly veiled threats that if he does not get the nomination his supporters will riot in the streets of the nation. His line of argument is that whoever is the clear leader - but short of that 1237 total - must be chosen to represent the Republican party simply because that person has been the clear choice of the Republicans who have chosen to vote in the state caucuses.
He does have a point and in the majority of similar past cases that has been so, but many opinion polls show that Trump is anathema to middle ground voters because of the extreme policies he has endorsed. When America goes to the polls in November everything from the balance in the High Court to the direction the nation will take will hinge of which side of politics becomes the victor. If the opinion of the Republican elders is that Trump is unelectable, they may flout contention and look elsewhere.
In the minds of many people, the job of President of the United States of America is the most important and powerful position in the world - and the US president is often referred to as "the world leader ". He has it in his power to declare war - and in this nuclear age that could be a thermo-nuclear exchange that destroys entire nations. He holds the power of veto on legislation enacted by Congress and the Senate and basically American government becomes unworkable if there is conflict between the president and whichever political party holds power in the elected houses - as we have clearly seen in recent times.
The fact that the High court has a vacancy and the Republican controlled Senate is refusing to even consider a nomination from a Democrat aligned president is an indication of the malaise that exists in the machinery of government. There is a chilling possibility that if Donald Trump becomes the next president and tries to put into practice the policies he has been espousing on the stump speeches the working of the US government may fall apart.
What happens in the US in November will cause the entire world to catch it's breath !
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