'Give Me A Dollar, Or I Will Vote For Trump'

From this rather comical sight, one can extrapolate two truths about the current state of affairs of American political scene 2016: (1) it’s truly politics in the gutter, and (2) green is the only colour in season, not red white and blue.
It does not matter that the First Lady Michelle Obama said at the Democratic National Convention that if other people took the low road, the Dems could take the high road. The 2016 presidential race is a competition to be won by people who are willing to stoop lower.
Both camps have called each other names that were earlier unthinkable to be uttered in national level political campaigns. “Liar” is what both presidential candidate describe each other. And it’s mild in comparison to other descriptive nouns, verbs and adjectives that each camp, their supporters and detractors throw at one another.
Pettiness dominates the thought process, observations, conversations and behaviour across the political spectrum. Pundits said Donald Trump had a disastrous week. First he hit below the belt when he commented that the mother of a fallen soldier stood without saying a word on the podium because she, as a Muslim woman, was brainwashed not to have an opinion. Then he rehashed his “blood coming out of whatever” remarks, saying that his words were twisted by perverts to make them sound vulgar, when he did not mean what it meant. When Trump was presented with a Purple Heart medal by a veteran at a campaign stop, he said in jest that he liked this way better because it was easy, he did not have to slug it out in the battlefield. It was quite obvious that he did not intend to insult the honour or the merit of the medal, but only foolishly wanted to inject lighthearted material into an occasion that otherwise would have been a serious event where real policies were pronounced. The traditional baby-hugging session was pumped up for Trump to hold not just one, but two babies at the same time, only for him to later banish a mother of a crying toddler to get out of the room where he was speaking.
During the primaries, Trump’s small hands were said to represent the size of another part of his anatomy. And Trump took it seriously enough to respond.
It is obvious that in order for Hilary Clinton to be accepted by voters, she has to first be a girlfriend, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother before being a politician and a leader. No male candidates would have to pass the litmus test of being a boyfriend, a husband, a father and grandfather before being qualified to run for an office. 
Hillary admitted that people did not know what to make of her, and therefore voters would have to take a leap of faith to put their destiny into her hands. But when she is asked questions that she does not want to answer, the responses are the canned answers that have nothing to do with the questions. Faith and trust are perhaps overrated in this campaign season.
Michael Bloomberg, the formidable former mayor of New York, said he could easily spot a “con man” when he saw one, and that people should go to the polls to elect a “sane” person. While his remarks reverberated effectively to shade Trump, the terms “con man” and “sane person” have never been relevant in a national political campaign, because there was no question about the candidates’ quality in the two categories, until now.
The 2016 presidential election will be the most expensive one, they say. And they have been saying this for the campaign that came before last. Last week, Hillary raised US$90 million, and in one day after the Democratic National Convention, she raised $9 million. In all, it was estimated that her campaign would raise about $1.5 billion as compared to Trump’s $300 million. “She will win, just by the sheer force of money she could spend on ads, data analytics, sophisticated Internet marketing and other things. Trump has no chance,” said an old time political observer.
What does it say about American politics? Loudly, it says “Money wins elections.”
And what does it entail?
It entails the mockery of the claim that the United States is a democracy in which the people rule.
When all the big money from Super PACs, corporations and trade unions are tabulated, the 2016 campaigns will have $10 billion to spend. When big money dominates the entire political process of presidential elections, and dictates the outcome, what it amounts to is that the presidency is for sale.
Hillary said in her acceptance speech that in the United States, democracy was not “yet” working the way it should. That was an honest and factual statement. There are people who have proposed that the way to reform the entire process and to rid it of big money would be to shorten the campaign period; that all political donations go to the government and the government would then provide each candidate an equal amount to spend, and no candidate can accept a dime outside of government allowance.
These are good ideas that will remain true to their humble origins – just ideas. American politics has become addicted to money, and no rehab could cure this disease, because the actors are not inclined to kick the habit.
When Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong of Singapore visited Washington last week, he was a breath of fresh air in the US presidential campaign season. He has the mind of a statesman when Trump cannot go beyond being a caricature and Hillary succumbed to the pressure and turned to denounce the Trans Pacific Partnership free-trade deal. When American reporters asked parochial questions about whether or not Trump was fit to become president, Obama gave a long and winding answer that amounted to “No.”
Meanwhile, some Americans are contemplating migrating to nearby countries like Canada or Costa Rica. Some fancy a military coup. They are fed up with gutter politics, and the dreadful fact that their Shining City on the Hill could be up for sale.