The bad vs the ugly, adds up to no good

Washington

AT the height of the so-called Monicagate scandal in the 1990s when fans of then-President Bill Clinton tended to dismiss the allegations against him (that he had sex with a White House intern), New York comedian Jackie Mason pondered what would have happened if Mr Clinton's groupies had been provided with documented evidence that the president had murdered someone. "They'll probably respond, 'So what? Everyone has to die one day'," he joked.

But then if you've been following the way supporters of the two leading American presidential candidates were responding to some clear documented evidence that each one of them (and in their own special way) has been bungling up things - Big Time! - you would have to conclude that Mr Mason may have gotten it about right.