60 years after Eisenhower remained at the back of the stage until the time of the actual injuries, the tune returns again • Despite much sympathy for him, Obama warmed up on the bench for a long time • Commentary
One of the main factors that tipped the scales in favor of the Democratic candidate in the 1960 presidential election, Senator John F. Kennedy, was the refusal of his opponent in the race, Richard Nixon, to share in the election campaign - until the very decisive eve - the outgoing popular president Dwight Eisenhower Served as Vice President for eight years.
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Nixon's aspiration to win the grand prize on his own and without any reinforcement player - and to be revered and as glorious and reputable as he may be - ultimately made a crucial contribution to his dire loss, as it prevented the president from projecting on his deputy at least a hint of his prestige and magic.
60 years after President Eisenhower remained at the back of the stage until the time of the actual injuries, the tune is back again.
For Barack Obama, whose Democratic nominee Joe Biden has served as his deputy for eight years, has continued to warm up on the bench for a long time even though the sympathy enjoyed by quite a few voter groups (at the heart of the African-American community) has broken and still breaks records.
It was only last week that the former president first stepped out of the relative quarantine in which he was placed, and converted his low-profile pattern of conduct into his favorite style - speeches at mass rallies, the first of which took place last week in Philadelphia.
Although the official reason for this late entry into the arena was Obama's stated desire to avoid mass and dangerous contagion events, the question arises: Does the real motive for the current recruitment lie in recent polls that seem to narrow the gap between Biden and Trump among African-American voters?
However, even if this is the source that led the leading Democratic candidate to now make maximum use of all the tools at his disposal, including former President Obama, at this point at least Biden's concern seems a bit excessive.
After all, in the second and final televised confrontation that took place on Thursday night, Trump demonstrated a marked improvement in his appearance and conduct compared to the first confrontation, which was disastrous for him, yet it is difficult to define this confrontation as a one-off change in the direction of the entire race.
For it was a balanced battle, in some cases even conducted in a relatively matter-of-fact and relaxed manner (in contrast to the first confrontation, which was nothing more than a mudslide that hit the president mostly), but one that would probably not burn into the national consciousness as a confrontation.
This, of course, assumes that Biden's overly decisive statement about his intention to develop "clean" energy sources at the expense of the traditional and polluting oil industry will not turn into a snowball, potentially damaging it to significant "oil" states such as Pennsylvania and Texas.
Moreover, despite Trump’s ongoing efforts to minimize the severity of the problem, the fact is that America is today at the beginning of a third and serious Corona wave.
Indeed, when, for example, the national number of infected reached 80,000, and when we faced a plague that had already claimed the lives of some 220,000 Americans, the election campaign turned into an actual referendum on the way the crisis was managed by the nation's captain.
Given that the White House's performance, especially in the early stages of the crisis, was flawed, and that it failed to copy the focus of public discourse to other districts where it was a resounding success, the picture for Trump today is bleak, though by no means terminal.
Moreover, in some of the key states in the campaign, including Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Arizona and Georgia, the Corona was hit particularly hard, thus directly and materially undermining its chances of winning their electoral votes (especially among the elderly population, many of whom resented its accelerated reopening). Of the economy, which exposed them to the danger of infection, and among the population of women in the suburbs, who massively abandoned the president, though not only against the background of the corona).
On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that four years ago Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton led by a double-digit lead of about 12%, ten days before the decision, so the possibility of an October surprise should not be ruled out, although its likelihood is diminishing.
As of today, therefore, the president needs a dramatic media bomb, such as solid and compelling information on ethics offenses, committed by Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
However, at least so far, there has been no material that has already been published to indict them directly, and the question of the credibility of the sources of information has also remained controversial.
All in all, at least at this point not only is Biden leading the race, but he has managed to infiltrate traditional Republican strongholds (such as Arizona and Georgia), and his chances of winning a majority in the Senate also look promising.
The irony is that the two sworn opponents, Obama and Trump, are now at the center of the stage, using the same tactic itself, i.e .: relying on their rhetorical ability to excite masses and recruit them to the flag.
The question is whether for the 45th president this tactic will succeed in advancing him towards the coveted goal, which seems - at the moment at least - difficult to achieve.
Another question that must be asked today is whether it will be the black day of the polls again, as this time too there may be a hidden segment of Trump supporters under the radar, without declaring in advance their true electoral intentions before giving the incumbent a voice.