Article source: CMDGroup
Okay, I admit it, I’m flummoxed.
I’m supposed to be writing about the economy, but how can I stay focused in the midst of a U.S. presidential election campaign.
Voting day may still be eight months away, in November, but there are distractions galore in the surround-sound coverage of the primaries and caucuses.
The economy has become a side-show event compared with what is going on in the electoral center ring.
Over the past decade-plus, the differences between the Democrats and Republicans have become deeper and more firmly entrenched.
Positions on the left and right have turned inflexible. Celebrity commentators in the media have played roles in marshalling legions of strident supporters.
Policy stances have proven intractable, yielding gridlock in Washington.
The crop that’s now being harvested is a disdain for politics as normally practiced.
Among Democrats, Hillary Clinton has been hard pressed to establish a lead over her rival, Bernie Sanders, a man who doesn’t hesitate to label himself a socialist.
On the Republican side, the candidacy of Donald Trump was supposed to peter out by last September, according to almost all the pundits.
