Reprinted from Truthdig
A scene from 'Hillary,' the 12-minute film shown at the Democratic convention.
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The title of the film about Hillary Clinton that actor Morgan Freeman narrated at the Democratic National Convention should have been "Escape From Accountability." Of course, the same could be said -- far more so (a pathetic comfort) -- of the GOP convention propaganda depicting Donald Trump's ascension to power. What we have in this election is a race to the bottom in what once was regarded as adult behavior, meaning that one should take responsibility for one's actions.
But while the deep venality of Trump's record should be obvious to anyone old enough to read, that is not the case with his opponent, safely ensconced as the very much lesser evil. Now that America's version of Margaret Thatcher is poised to become president, the obvious value of breaking that glass ceiling has to be tempered by the prospect of increased belligerence in foreign policy and a Wall Street-manipulated, heartless economy at home.
For all of the Democrats' denunciation of Citizens United and the role of big money, that is what saved Clinton in this campaign, and the fat cats toasting over at the Ritz-Carlton were delighted with the outcome. It is the Democrats, first Barack Obama and now Clinton, who turned their backs on public financing because, thanks to their sellout to Wall Street, they can look to big money to smash populist sentiment, as expressed so dramatically this time by the incredible outpouring of small contributions that financed the Bernie Sanders campaign.
Follow the money and it is obvious that the Democratic Party as much as the GOP is now the plaything of the super-rich. GOP nominee Trump is one of the few egomaniacal outliers who think they can game the system on their own. But in this election, for the multinational corporate hustlers who view governance as a means of establishing a convenient world order supportive of their plunder, Clinton triangulation best fits the bill.