It's Clinton vs Trump in 'race to the bottom'

Washington

THE protagonists are set: Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump. The battleground? Fifty states. Voters will now be treated to a historic, bruising spectacle as two of America's most polarising figures wage war for the White House.

On the Democratic side is a candidate rich with political experience, a pioneering, if controversial, stateswoman embracing her chance to become the nation's first female commander-in-chief.

The Republican standing in her way is the brash billionaire businessman and political neophyte who rewrote the campaign playbook as he vanquished his many rivals for the nomination with a mud-slinging unparalleled in modern American politics.

The ferocity of the primaries - Americans and many around the world had never seen a modern US presidential race play out with such insulting and denigrating attacks - promises to be just a preview of what is in store for the general election.

Mrs Clinton, the former secretary of state, euphorically seized the Democratic Party mantle on Tuesday, seizing the nomination in dramatic fashion with primary wins in four of six states including the grand prize, California.

On perhaps the biggest night of her political career, as she declared a historic milestone for women, she assailed Mr Trump for his divisiveness and his trademark slogan, "Make America Great Again".

"That's code for let's take America backward," she said, "back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all. Don't let anyone tell you that great things can't happen in America."

Mr Trump was pledging a tough fight, choosing to lay into Mrs Clinton in his own presumptive victory speech and accusing her and her former president husband Bill of enriching themselves by "selling access, selling favours, selling government contracts".

And he signalled there would be no honeymoon, announcing a "major speech" for early next week in which he will address "all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons". The trajectory of the race is unlikely to soar into loftier issues.

Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, feared the race will be less a battle over substance than a clash of two outsized personalities.

He said: "Mrs Clinton has deep knowledge and detailed platforms, but because Mr Trump doesn't have any, nobody focuses on the differences. And because we have two candidates who are more distrusted than trusted, more disliked than liked, this becomes a race to the bottom."

Mrs Clinton will be looking to exploit the various controversies ensnaring Mr Trump - most recently his criticism of a Mexican-American federal judge, which sparked uproar within his own party - as a way to enhance her own resume.

"There's no out-trumping Trump, he is an extremely talented unique character," said Tim Miller, a former communications adviser to Republican Jeb Bush, one of the many candidates defeated by Mr Trump in the primaries. "Getting down in a mud-wrestling fight with him is going to be a loser. She has to focus on the issues that drive her base" of minorities and women and inspire young voters.

But she will also need to make a compelling case for supporters of her Democratic rival, Bernie Sanders, to embrace her campaign to defeat Mr Trump in November.

Mr Trump extended an olive branch to Mr Sanders' supporters, saying: "We welcome you with open arms." AFP

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