This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/16/guardian-view-on-white-house-race-donald-trump-hillary-clinton
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| The Guardian view on the White House race: getting clearer but not easier | The Guardian view on the White House race: getting clearer but not easier |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Barring something utterly out of the ordinary in modern US party politics, it is now almost certain that the presidential election of November 2016 will be fought out between Donald Trump for the Republicans and Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. Mrs Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in all five states that held primaries on Tuesday, including Illinois, where the socialist senator from Vermont had hoped to capitalise on last week’s win in Michigan. Meanwhile Mr Trump racked up the delegates in four states while suffering a significant defeat in pivotal Ohio at the hands of governor John Kasich. Against that, Mr Trump’s win in Florida knocked Senator Marco Rubio, once seen as the potential anti-Trump rallying point, out of the race. | |
| So, do we now say simply that it is time to move on to the conventions in the summer and get ready for the contest in the autumn? Yes and no. This week’s results undoubtedly make the Trump-Clinton match-up an even more likely outcome than it was already. But in each party there are major issues to be dealt with as the primary phase of the contests slips gradually into the rear-view mirror. These are not small issues. It is not over yet. The uncertainty is greatest in the Republican party. Here the question remains whether Mr Trump can be stopped and, if so, by whom and what means? That was the question going into the primaries, and it remains so now. But as the primaries have unfolded, each of the obvious not-Trump options has fallen by the wayside. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush have gone. Now Mr Rubio has gone. Senator Ted Cruz is most senior Republicans’ idea of the anti-Trump candidate from hell, while Mr Kasich’s biggest claim is simply that he is the last neither-of-the-above candidates still standing. | So, do we now say simply that it is time to move on to the conventions in the summer and get ready for the contest in the autumn? Yes and no. This week’s results undoubtedly make the Trump-Clinton match-up an even more likely outcome than it was already. But in each party there are major issues to be dealt with as the primary phase of the contests slips gradually into the rear-view mirror. These are not small issues. It is not over yet. The uncertainty is greatest in the Republican party. Here the question remains whether Mr Trump can be stopped and, if so, by whom and what means? That was the question going into the primaries, and it remains so now. But as the primaries have unfolded, each of the obvious not-Trump options has fallen by the wayside. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush have gone. Now Mr Rubio has gone. Senator Ted Cruz is most senior Republicans’ idea of the anti-Trump candidate from hell, while Mr Kasich’s biggest claim is simply that he is the last neither-of-the-above candidates still standing. |
| It is incredibly late in the primary season for Mr Kasich to mount a plausible challenge to the Trump tide. This means that the party has to face a horrendously difficult set of questions. Does it have the will, the means, the candidate and the platform to pull Mr Trump down at the convention in Cleveland in July? And would such an outcome, even if it could be achieved, benefit the candidate to whom the nomination was then handed? US politics is full of unfairnesses, but the idea of installing a candidate who has not campaigned on the stump through the winter would be a huge gamble. Against that, there are real fears that Mr Trump could pull the Republican party down with him in November. The stakes are high. | It is incredibly late in the primary season for Mr Kasich to mount a plausible challenge to the Trump tide. This means that the party has to face a horrendously difficult set of questions. Does it have the will, the means, the candidate and the platform to pull Mr Trump down at the convention in Cleveland in July? And would such an outcome, even if it could be achieved, benefit the candidate to whom the nomination was then handed? US politics is full of unfairnesses, but the idea of installing a candidate who has not campaigned on the stump through the winter would be a huge gamble. Against that, there are real fears that Mr Trump could pull the Republican party down with him in November. The stakes are high. |
| By comparison, the Democrats’ difficulties may seem smaller and more manageable. In some respects that is true. If Mrs Clinton goes to the convention in Philadelphia with the majority of delegates, she will be the party’s candidate. But Mr Sanders is still full of running, has a tide of enthusiastic support, and seems likely to take this to the convention too. After these primaries he now seems more certain than ever to lose the race. But the task of reconciling the party’s left and centre – its Sanders and Clinton wings – is not a minor one. The left is not easily reconciled to Mrs Clinton’s record and style. Here, too, the stakes are high and the argument far from over. | By comparison, the Democrats’ difficulties may seem smaller and more manageable. In some respects that is true. If Mrs Clinton goes to the convention in Philadelphia with the majority of delegates, she will be the party’s candidate. But Mr Sanders is still full of running, has a tide of enthusiastic support, and seems likely to take this to the convention too. After these primaries he now seems more certain than ever to lose the race. But the task of reconciling the party’s left and centre – its Sanders and Clinton wings – is not a minor one. The left is not easily reconciled to Mrs Clinton’s record and style. Here, too, the stakes are high and the argument far from over. |
Previous version
1
Next version