On Second Thought: Who is the scariest of them all?

In the last few weeks the most boring presidential contest in history suddenly became entertaining.

First, in what would prove to be their last debate, candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump engaged in a a shambling race for the worst golfer title. Next came a gunshot, and a blood streaked Trump ascended triumphantly from the Secret Service pile up shouting, “Fight!” just before Joe Biden threw in the towel. Now, a moment later, replacement lead Kamala Harris is catching up and, according to some polls, may have passed the man with the bandaged ear.

What can so many sudden reversals mean? Not since Teddy Roosevelt took a bullet and kept right on speechifying has a presidential candidate been granted such a perfect manly man photo op as Trump’s bloody ear moment. And for the second in command of an unpopular president, suddenly thrust onto the big stage, to engender the kind of enthusiasm Harris is enjoying is even more rare — Just ask the disappointed shade of Vice President and late presidential nominee Now-you-won’t-have-Hubert-to-kick-around-anymore-Humphrey, or the stumbling ghost of Vice President/President Gerald Ford.

The drama now unfolding isn’t character driven. Trump of the golden throne’s eight-year-run as savior of the downtrodden could only be possible in the time of an unhappy populace.

For her part, back in the days when Democrats were picky about presidential candidates, during the 2020 primary, Harris couldn’t even stir up enough enthusiasm to make it past the Iowa caucus gate.

Maybe the secret to a bombastic billionaire playboy’s ride atop a juggernaut of rust belt NAFTA victims, good old boys from the South and anxious evangelicals isn’t so much about Trump’s political acumen as the desperation of the abandoned for a leader. One thing Trump has to know from his years promoting professional wrestling is that the story doesn’t have to be that good if it’s a story fans want to hear: a brave gesture (that raised fist after the gunshots) and the right mask can make all the difference between the avenger and the heel.

The rush of of the Democratic faithful to elevate Harris surprised even the Democratic management. Some insiders, like former President Obama, initially figured a mini primary or convention process would be needed to add a little democratic flavoring after Biden dropped out, but the insiders underestimated the effectiveness of their own eight year long scare war against Trump, It turns out, if you keep telling people long enough that that they are in a no holds barred war to save democracy, the believers aren’t going to worry about democratic niceties when a new avenging savior appears.

Nobody in either camp is asking the leader hard questions; the word is, “Just save us from the evil doer, and we’ll call it good.” Back in the old Biden days, uncommitted progressives were threatening the president’s re-election over his bombs for Netanayhu’s campaign against the women and children of Gaza, but despite the fact that Harris herself has said, “No way” to stopping the bombs over Palestine shipments, has a congressional record of no questions asked support for Israel. and has received over $5 million in career funding from AIPAC, progressives appear content to stop worrying about complicity in a genocide so long as she promises to spare us from Trump, the insurrectionist.

Speaking of Mideast issues, given the increasing risk that the war in Gaza will blow up into WWIII, shouldn’t somebody in Trump world ask the former president if he still thinks it was a great idea to stir up Muslims by relocating the embassy to Jerusalem, and to encourage Israel’s neighbors to forget about the Palestinians in the name of peace with Israel?

If it’s issues of national interest you care about, you’ll have to look elsewhere than this year’s Democratic/ Republican presidential contest. Both warring parties are sticking to insults: it’s childless cat ladies versus weirdos. The closest Trump comes to an issue is calling Harris far left, despite the reality that the actual problems for her abortive 2020 campaign was that primary voters didn’t like her tough on crime act as California attorney, and were disappointed at how quickly she abandoned a single-payer Medicare for all promise in favor of a plan to save health insurance industry profits. The Democrats effort to link to Trump to Project 2025 likewise says more about Democratic terrors than about the candidate. Trump, the populist showman, is about as likely to pay attention to the conservative niceties of Project 2025 as he is to disquisitions on the trinity.

As to big issues — like the fact that, whether a Republican or a Democrat is in the White House, the rich keep getting richer while young people find it harder and harder to afford a place to live; suicide rates, the defense budget and the deficit all keep going up; and the Union of Concerned Scientists’ nuclear war Doomsday clock is closer to midnight now than ever before ... if you care about issues, you’ll have to tune into any one of the third party and independent campaigns. The Republican and Democratic candidates have enough to do saving us from each other without worrying about issues.

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Will Rawn of Havre is a retired Montana State University-Northern professor.