Don’t believe the spin: Democrats and the state of the union remain strong

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this scenario:

Not only will Donald Trump be re-elected for another four years in November’s U.S .presidential election. He will then be succeeded by his son Donald Trump Jr. for eight years, followed by his daughter, Ivanka, for another eight years. And then, perhaps, his youngest son, Barron, currently a teenager?

Is it morning yet? Can I wake up now?

It has been a rocky week, and that, in a nutshell, is what many frightened, panic-stricken, demoralized Democrats now fear will happen in America’s political future.

But they’re wrong.

In spite of Donald Trump, not because of him, the state of their union, as the fabled expression goes, is still strong.

This past week has appeared to be a good one for Trump, but only if you believe the Republican spin and the uncritical coverage from much of the U.S. news media.

Even though his approval rating on one poll this week increased to a record 49 per cent, experts suggest this is due more to short-lived Republican anger at impeachment than anything enduring. Even though Trump was not removed from office in the Senate’s impeachment vote Wednesday — by a margin of 52-48 — it came about as a result of a clearly rigged trial that brought shame to the Republican-controlled chamber, and the public knows that.

And even though TV critics were agog at the “reality show” production of Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, viewers were clearly bored as the TV audience was the smallest in Trump’s tenure, 20 per cent less than last year.

This meant that most Americans learned about it the next day when the “fact-checking” news coverage of the speech focused mainly on his misleading claims and distortions.

They included Trump’s lies about the U.S. economy being “the best it has ever been” — not true. That he had passed the biggest tax cut in history — not true. That he had created more jobs than President Barack Obama — not true. And that his government has protected medical coverage for Americans “with pre-existing conditions” when, in fact, his government supports a lawsuit that would completely eliminate that feature of the health-care law.

The notion that Trump is on the brink of another stunning election victory this November seems to be premised on a crucial assumption. It takes for granted that the majority of the American public — by voting for policies diametrically opposed to their own self-interest — are essentially stupid and uninformed.

Although I concede much of their media, and America’s political class, operates on the unspoken and hypocritical acceptance that this is so — with considerable success — I don’t think that 2020s election will reveal that. Too much genuine, painful reality has crowded into the debate.

For now, that may be overlooked by the many Democrats who seem this week to be jumping off tall buildings as they lament their political fortunes.

Yes, the chaotic Iowa caucus results have been an embarrassment, but these will soon be forgotten.

And yes, the Democratic Party seems to be divided once again between two “establishment” and “progressive” wings, and at least four leading candidates: Biden, Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg.

But so what? American democracy has always been messy, and it is only February. There are many Democratic primaries to go.

Much of the noise and phoney outrage from these recent days will fade in the mists of time, but some things will endure.

Decades from now — a century from now — history will remember the eloquence of Mitt Romney as the first senator in American history to vote to remove a president of his own party.

History will also remember the extraordinary impeachment process in the House of Representatives that turned out to be a public education of how a 21st-century democracy should comport itself.

One by one, in spite of bitter pressure from Republican partisans, dedicated American public servants — many of them diplomats — risked their own careers to testify because they felt it was necessary to tell the truth.

At its head, the American political system has become corrupt and self-serving — but at its core, the state of the union is still strong.

Most importantly, let us remember that, in spite of this week’s turmoil, the journey to next November’s presidential election has only begun.

Tony Burman, formerly head of CBC News and al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

American democracy has always been messy, and it is only February. There are many Democratic primaries to go.