By Philip Yeung, university teacher
PKY480@gmail.com
Things are looking downright ugly in the US. But when America asks for a savior, all it gets is a Satan. A self-seeking man-child who idle-boasts about Making America Great Again is about to hurl it into the ninth layer of hell.
In the UK, finally an overdue correction. However belatedly, its system has worked, chucking out the last pretender in a parade of fools. In America, the system has betrayed its people. Neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has stood up to its constitutional duty of holding the powerful accountable. Half the country is in thrall to a deranged cult leader. There is talk of Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden, not exactly beauty over age. For Harris is not exactly baggage-free. She is short on charm, and starved on common sense, and living in her own cocoon.
But now, on the West Coast, a new ray of hope is shimmering on the horizon, Gavin Newsom, governor of multicultural California. After Biden's "no-coming-back" debate disaster, Newsom has been on everybody's lips as the viable alternative. He has a handsome head on smart shoulders. Not long ago, he went knocking on China's door, swinging it open. He charmed his way into the most skeptical hearts in a country portrayed as America's adversary. China opens its arms to a messenger bearing an olive branch, warming to his promise of a return to normalcy. Without putting a foot wrong, he has turned a barren soil into a fertile land for friendship. He is the polar opposite to his Republican counterpart in Florida—Ron DeSantis, a bully in the Trump mode, known for his racist impulse to inflict his far-right agenda on visible minorities, banning Chinese from owning property in his state, and banning books he politically dislikes in the public library. He is Trump without the Trump bravado---a second stringer who is best remembered as a vengeful political operator. A small man for a great state.
Newsom, by contrast, is now favored by betting agencies as more likely than most to replace Biden as the presidential pick should the stumbles continue. He is now four--square on the national stage, pursued piranha-like by media and pundits alike. Astutely, he has brushed aside any suggestion of being a last-minute stand-in for an imploding Biden. This is a smart move. An early admission of ambition will be the political kiss of death. It reeks of disloyalty and opportunism. But there is little doubt that Newsom has been grooming himself for a bigger stage. His icebreaking trip to China has shored up his global credentials. If he succeeds in surgically repairing America's ruptured relationship with China, the planet will be a safer and saner place. He is the only prominent US politician who went to China with an open mind, and came back with an open heart. A Newsom presidency would be an in-the-nick-of-time rescue for a planet in crisis.
Republican vultures, however, are ready to swoop down on a rising American eagle. The fragile, interconnected global order needs a pair of safe hands, not bad-mouthing politicians or a ticking time bomb. Win or lose, Trump spells terrible trouble for order, national and international. Newsom is the only voice of reason to refrain from reflexively demonizing China in the post-truth era. The rest are all cackling noises from a crowded chicken cage.
If Newsom doesn't land in the White House, he surely belongs on the shortlist for the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead of bombs, he offers China an olive branch. Instead of threats, he offers hope. I am not worried about Harris rubbing her hands in glee and waiting in the wings. She can be counted on to self-destruct. Her big mouth and small heart will see to that.
For Newsom to neutralize Trump, Senator Robert Kennedy Jr. should drop his vanity run and abort his independent candidacy. Why spoil the Kennedy good name by peeing on the parade at a time when we can least afford it. If Biden stays in the race, he is gifting Trump another White House tenancy. If Newsom runs, he will keep the blond bully out.
That is a certainty.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Philip Yeung:
Opinion | America's Hobson's choice
Opinion | A watershed moment in Chinese history
Opinion | The Gaza slaughter, a disaster for Israel and America
Comment