Washington Establishment rocking: Hillary could win by a landslide in November

EARLY this week, I think I heard a really huge sigh of relief in my neighbourhood, and I believe I saw a lot of smiling faces around. In fact, I was expecting to see my neighbours (the unlucky few who were not on vacation) cheering; perhaps giving the high fives to each other. And, no, it wasn't about the American Olympic victories in Rio.

But first, let me say a little about my neighbours. I reside in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb that is attached to Washington, DC, and the home of professional men and women who work in the capital city: a lot of highly paid federal government officials, lawyers, lobbyists, scientists, and even a few media types.

My neighbours are mostly whites with a sprinkling of Asian-Americans. Bethesda is also a very cosmopolitan area: in my apartment building, there are families of International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and diplomats. The people who live in this area are social-culturally liberal but also fiscal-conservative on economic issues. And they believe that the federal government should help the poor and the needy, and that Washington should play a leading role in world affairs. Many of them shop in organic food stores and subscribe to the basic politically correct tenets of our society.