The homestretch begins

The Democratic Party Convention - which ended in Philadelphia on July 28, 2016 - nominated for the first time a woman, Hillary Clinton, for the White House.

In the presence of 4,763 state delegates and party activists, political heavyweights such as Bernie Sanders, President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, former president Bill Clinton, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg were among others, who spoke in support of the candidacy of Clinton.

Party conventions during American presidential elections are carefully orchestrated political dramas where candidates and political heavyweights appear to speak in support of the candidates. The acrimony that usually accompanies these meetings was avoided this time as there was only one candidate.

There are two more candidates in the fray – Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jill Stein from Green Party. But the actual fight will be between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who was earlier nominated by the Republicans.

The theme of the Democratic Convention was inclusiveness as opposed to the divisive xenophobia peddled by Donald Trump. Opposing Trump's "I can fix it" rhetoric, Clinton's refrain was, "We are stronger together . . . We will rise to the challenge." The speakers tried to dispel Trump's negativism and dwelt on the positive aspects of the US. In his inspiring speech, President Obama criticised Trump, asserting that the US was not a "country where we turn against each other, and turn away from the rest of the world". Supporting Hillary Clinton's candidature Obama declared, "There has never been a man or woman, not me, not Bill, nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to be president".

None of the speakers, however, went into the details of major issues of economy, defence, foreign policy or gun violence. Speakers spent a large part of their allocated time touching upon some of the major socio-economic statistics, painting an optimistic progressive picture of the United States. The convention was, in fact, a well scripted event to re-launch and boost Hillary Clinton's personality and image.

Accepting the nomination, Clinton called for unity among voters, describing the election as a "moment of reckoning", and extolled American values of "freedom and equality, justice and opportunity". Clinton named Timothy Michael Kaine, Senator from Virginia, as her Vice President.

A closer look at Donald Trump's incoherent convention speech will reveal that it is full of anti-globalisation rhetoric: "Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo". He has also promised to build walls around America. Trump's anti-globalism rhetoric lacks detail but resonates with those who believe in 'White nationalism'. The wind of neo-nationalism is sweeping across the capitalistic West. It is blowing hard in Europe, and the US, it appears, is not immune to this contagious syndrome.

On the other hand, Clinton denounced Trump saying, "We will not build a wall . . .  He wants to divide us - from the rest of the world and from each other". On the economy, which came up repeatedly in the campaign, Clinton spoke about a blend of conservative-liberal policies.

One of the most unique aspects of the American presidential election is its long, expensive campaign, spread over almost two years. It is a spectacle where candidates demonise each other using slangs, name calling and uncivil language to score points. In this exhaustive process, untold shocking scandals and weaknesses of each candidate come out in the public domain.

It is actually the electronic media that plays a decisive role in the formation of voters' viewpoint about the contestants – critically analysing the personality, policies, and ideology of each contender. Social media also plays a crucial role in shaping the popularity of the candidates. Interestingly, a big chunk of the media bill would have been used by candidates to rubbish their opponents. 

However, all is not well with the Republicans. The GOP is split between the old guards and supporters of Donald Trump, considered by many as an intruder who has hijacked the party. He got the nomination as he was the only remaining candidate at the Republican Party Convention. He, however, continues to draw the white Middle-American crowds who are angry at the establishment.

The generational divide within the Democratic Party was effectively patched when left-leaning Bernie Sanders, who created a large base among young white Americans, was present at the convention and supported the candidature of Hillary Clinton. Clinton has a wider support base which includes African Americans, Latinos, women, older white Democrats and reportedly even a section of the Republicans.

It will be a massive task for both candidates to galvanise their respective parties and make sure that their supporters do not drift away or stay away from voting. Both parties have also been trying to poach on the support base of their rival.

The campaign has now entered the final phase, which no doubt will be extremely interesting. As old GOP stalwarts distance themselves from their nominee, Donald Trump has already launched his vitriolic attacks against Clinton. Unfortunately, Trump, the loose cannon that he is, creates controversy every time he speaks, which are ignored by his blind supporters and loathed by his distracters.

What is most remarkable is that this election is no longer about Republican conservatism or Democrat progressivism. The time around it is not being fought along conventional lines. On the one hand there is a politically experienced woman, and on the other there is an unqualified man. This election is no longer about the Democratic "Donkey" or the Republican "Elephant" of the yesteryears.

As the popularity ratings of the two candidates move up and down over the next three months, the debates in September and October will largely determine who will wield power at the Oval Office in January 2017.

The writer is a former Ambassador and Secretary