In the US presidential race, presumptive nominees of both the Republican and the Democratic parties are now the accepted nominees. This week the Democratic National Convention commanded the attention of delegates and the voting public as did the Republican National Convention the week before. The ongoing process has given us examples of both the worst and the best of political leadership in style and substance.
The primaries were bruising on both sides of the ideological divide. The Republican primaries in particular fomented bitter rivalries, many of which had at their heart "basket-setter" in chief Donald Trump (the colloquial context mind you, not the intricate art of jewelry design).
The billionaire idiot savant, whom everyone considered a joke right up until it wasn't funny anymore, deftly capitalised on fear and latent prejudices in Americans believing themselves to be completely ignored by business-as-usual politics. Wielding the mannerisms and language of a simpleton, Trump reached into corroded hearts and connected with each disaffected voter on a hate by hate basis.
The flashy reality-television star materialised a reality which no one, not even the Republican Party thought possible; himself as a presidential candidate. Donald Trump's incalculable powers include bending space and time, allowing supporters to imagine a return the America of Wonder Bread yesteryear; fewer brown people with discomfiting cultural and religious oddities in the midst of their "pure" American values.
The primaries foreshadowed the increasing toxicity of Trump's invective as the presidential battle begins in earnest. He has discovered that there is nothing he can say that is so outrageous as to alter his trajectory. Trump's speeches are both vacuous and brilliant, in that they snake-charm a rapt audience while sidestepping explanations on how he proposes to build his great big beautiful wall behind which he will deposit 11 million immigrants while, with his other hand, making America great again by banning Muslims from entering the country, bridling China, courting Putin and creating "jobs...so many jobs, ooh you wouldn't believe it...it's true...true."
Contrast that with the messages and tone on offer at the Democratic convention. There were several noteworthy presenters, among them Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton's running mate US senator Tim Kaine, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and first lady Michelle Obama to name a few.
Naturally, the most anticipated speech of the convention was delivered by President Barack Obama who didn't disappoint. Without cavorting in the fear circus, Obama addressed the ominous rise of Donald Trump while refusing to dismiss him merely as a fool, as have many of Trump's vanquished political foes. In the tenor of his speech it was clear that Obama interprets Donald Trump as a manifestation of the inalienable frustrations resident in the hearts of many Americans. The President knew that to simply rubbish Trump as an imbecile is to recklessly ascribe the same mindlessness to the voters rallying behind the cotton-haired tycoon. At the same time, Obama carefully laid out what he considers the hard-won successes of his administration.
In making his pitch for Hillary, Obama painstakingly sowed once more through his heir apparent, the hope that the United States, in a spirit of unity can achieve all the lofty goals it has set itself.
History will judge Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States. There are many who consider his legacy one of abject failure and weakness while others celebrate him the greatest President who ever sat in the Oval Office. What cannot be disputed is the uncommon dignity and intelligence he brought to the office and public discourse, all while steering that country through some of its darkest days.
Comparing speeches from the podium of the Democratic National Convention with our own political leadership makes our deficits here at home that much more glaring. While there is no shortage of buffoonery and trite banter in the American political landscape, there is a counterbalance of erudition from many sources suggesting that, in the US, there are many who think before opening their mouths. Americans can still count on leaders who lend their considerable intellectual resources to confronting the steep challenges of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious society in one of the world's largest economies.
In the T&T experience, erudition and progressive thought at the highest levels of leadership are disappointingly scarce commodities. On our political platforms, in parliament and in media interviews the speeches and utterances of our politicians are typically expositions of woefully outdated thinking on critical issues such as economic and social development, crime, labour and environmental policy.
Where are our dynamic leaders? Where are our men and women plugged into the changing world around us, replete with new knowledge and understanding of ways to adapt in a rapidly evolving world?
The business of governance is a complex affair demanding level-headed, cerebral leadership if it is to balance the multiple interests of society. This week has thrown into sharp relief our own deficiencies of considered thought in public life. As time continues to take from us our great thinkers and orators, we are left with men and women in leadership whose words fork no lightning and whose lethargic intellects fail to inspire.