WASHINGTON – The 2016 presidential campaign has been peculiarly disconnected from the real world of problems, crises and governing. It took the catastrophe in Paris to narrow the gap – and even a monstrous terrorist attack may not shake the trajectory of a contest that operates within a logic of its own.
The inevitable distance between politicking and the business of running a government is especially wide this year because of the strange configuration of the Republican field. Donald Trump and Ben Carson in particular have detached themselves from anything resembling normal politics.
Moreover, the Democratic and Republican primary electorates have such radically different views that the candidates on each side seem to be running for president of quite different countries.
The United States of the Republicans (USR) is a nation in dire trouble, losing influence around the globe, and barely recovering from the Great Recession. In the USR, low taxes and smaller government are the key to everything.
The United States of the Democrats (USD) has made substantial progress since President Obama took office but still confronts economic inequality and stagnating wages. In the USD, government needs to do more about problems, including the difficulties of accessing health coverage, child care and a college education.