IT is an election summer like no other. America is fraught, anxious, nervous, divided. And one of the two presidential candidates would have it no other way.
Donald Trump is basking in his own glory this week in Cleveland, the city that has been described (unfairly) as “the mistake on the lake,” but which right now is beyond argument the town with most of America’s eyes fixed firmly on it.
The Republican National Convention is Trump’s biggest stage thus far in this campaign of campaigns. And for sure the man loves his stage.
That’s why his choice as a vice presidential partner was never going to be more than a supporting act. Vice presidential partners typically have top billing for less time than it takes to say “veep.” And they make the biggest news for not a lot longer than that.
That’s unless they are obviously awful or rank as an equal, or near equal, to the candidate.
Typically, the vice presidential choice brings to the table support from a certain voting bloc, places his or her own state in the win column for the candidate, is not the type to rock the boat, and doesn’t cast a shadow longer than the candidate.
Nobody in the Republican Party right now is even remotely capable of casting a longer shadow than Donald Trump. And that includes the ghost of Abraham Lincoln, who Hillary Clinton has been trying to lay claim to of late.
Mike Pence, governor of Indiana, fits the role of supporting actor for candidate Trump perfectly. Though Catholic Irish in terms of ancestry, Pence is a born again evangelical Christian and evangelicals will be a cornerstone voting bloc for Trump in November.
Pence also promises Midwest Indiana, which could easily vote Republican anyway, but is a stronger bet now.
And his shadow, literally and metaphorically, falls way short of Trump’s. Pence, with a solid background of legislative experience in Congress, and executive experience as a governor, will now fulfil his appointed role – several steps behind his boss.
Which brings us to Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential choice. The Democrats gather for their convention in Philadelphia next week.
The party is less divided than it might have been now that Bernie Sanders has endorsed Clinton. But the Dems are a nervous bunch, not because they feel they are up against a better Republican candidate, but rather because Trump doesn’t fit the role of a typical Republican candidate.
The Donald demands an entirely new play book. And Hillary Clinton, at this point, seems to be decidedly old school.
That’s not necessarily a criticism. But Hillary’s ability to turn jittery and undecided voters away from Trump is going to be vital to her prospects for success.
And every atrocity, such as last week’s slaughter in Nice, makes for a more nervous American electorate, one that is already sorely distracted by race and policing issues that seem to just never go away. And Donald Trump feeds off nerves and distraction.
So will Hillary chose a shorter shadow? In the metaphorical sense that is.
Someone like, say, Senator Tim Kaine from Virginia, Irish Catholic and a solid choice, but not someone who is going to dominate Hillary’s stage.
Or will she reach for the likes of Bernie Sanders or Senator Elizabeth Warren, both of whom bring solid progressive credentials to the table and, in the case of Sanders in particular, really seem to inspire younger voters?
If Warren and Sanders are shorter shadows it won’t be by much.
Both would be well equipped to go after Trump with the gloves off, freeing Clinton up to talk about issues and policies.
Given the year that’s in it, Clinton’s choice appears to be a bigger one than the choice Trump has already made. That’s in part because she has a bigger field to choose from.
Optics are important at conventions. In Cleveland, it’s about Trump, Trump and Trump, with the sideshow being Pence and a game of naming who the no-shows are.
In Philadelphia, it will be rather more about who is standing beside Hillary than it might have been if the Republican nominee had been, say, Jeb Bush.
It’s not that Hillary can’t win the presidency by herself. She can. But Democrats don’t just want to win the presidency. They want to win back Congress, and wipe the floor with a Republican Party that is barely recognisable from what it was even just a few years ago.
They want to be the new party of Abraham Lincoln. And to do that they need a big ticket with big coattails.
:: Fionnuala O Connor is away.
