The whole world will watch the spectacle of the US impeachment reality TV show

THERE was a sense of drama and suspense in Washington last week.

For only the fourth time in the nation's history, the US House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings that target a sitting American president, who in theory could be convicted for violating his oath or for committing a crime and then be ousted from office.

The proceedings of the impeachment inquiry that commenced in an imposing hearing room on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning are being broadcast live on television, and covered by hundreds of journalists and bloggers from all around world and tweeted and posted 24/7 on social media, a major global spectacle.