AA Edit | Lineup out, gloves are off as US heads to prez polls

It is not without old fears resurfacing and new anxieties building that the US heads to its November 5 date with democracy. As one assassination bid on Mr Trump failed and other conspiracies against both candidates were spotted and squashed in time, the events are seen as symbolic of a postmodern United States, with its endless arguments over gun control in an increasingly fractious world beset by divisiveness of all kinds.

How much has changed even as battle lines were being drawn for these crucial elections that may have repercussions for the world at large became apparent in the popularity polls closing to a point where it might be difficult to call out who is the clear favourite. The thumping lead Mr Trump seemed to enjoy in the immediate aftermath of a sniper failing in his lone wolf attempt on the former President seems to have thinned out as Joe Biden decided over a weekend that his critics were right about his age working against him.

Kamala Harris, with the highest communication skills, is a different proposition for the convicted felon of a former President. Indeed, Mr Trump was lording it over a fumbling Mr Biden whose cognitive abilities were seen folding up against the challenge of the job besides having to handle the campaign in which the debate appearance proved decisive as the worst fears over his mental fitness emerged. The odds have changed with the gap between the leading contenders in public rating closing in to negligible percentages.

In deciding to pick Tim Walz from Minnesota rather than John Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who might have struggled to attract votes at a time when Israel has stoked conflicting feelings and loyalties in the US with its war on the Palestinians, Kamala’s instincts may have led her to the better option. There may be huge unknowns as the campaign cranks up to speed, but with support and dollars pouring in, Kamala and Walz may have given the Democrats their best shot at retaining the power of the presidency.

Campaign speeches about the candidates and their deputies are bound to get even more interesting as the representatives of both parties feel no need to observe any courtesies, or even acceptable taste in deeply personal attacks. But that is par for the course in politics, more so in the land of free speech where no-holds-barred campaigns light up the period to the polls.

Never the one to back down, Mr Trump, who brought race and “birthism” into his speeches once Kamala’s name came on to the ticket, had also made an unusual pick for running mate in Mr Vance, a politician who had had the nastiest things to say of him. The verbal battles have been sharp enough already as the country with the world’s biggest economy and its most powerful military goes to the polls in 2024, the year of notable elections round the world.