West Wing 7:18

It is car crash tv - not The West Wing, to which I will return shortly - no cable news. I am drawn back to it, moth to flame - Sky, BBC, CNBC, Fox, et al. And it never gets any better, the spectacle of human awfulness, slain priests, economic stasis (a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the BBC revels), and above all else the wrteched Donald Trump. A man who makes Hillary Clinton and her truckloads of political baggage electable. Shame on the world.

So last night we watched West Wing series 7, episode 18, Requiem. Yes, I know it's not real but it portrayed a political class (of both sides) capable of humility before power. It had its villains but above all else it had redemption and optimism. Where did they go? We get Clinton. Tell me please how on earth those around her did not spot that using a private email server for matters of state was fuckwit stupid? And why can she not just front up and admit her mistake? But all of that pales into insignificance as Trump crushes any vestige of decency out of politics. He mocks the afflicted; he belittles war heroes; he lauds lawlessness; he flat out lies.

This matters. 'America First' has never been an attractive cry. America has been at its best in the past 'American Century' when it has had a care for the rest of us. It has been wrong, overbearing at times, but it cared about us and wrapped us in its optimism. Where do we go next?