” Joe Biden is Third Time Lucky as Republicans Prepare to Take Their ‘ lumps ” – November 7, 2020.

Joe Biden is now the American President-elect ; Kamala Harris is now the American Vice President- elect. (Saturday, November 7, 2020).

Third time lucky ; oldest to occupy the prestigious President-elect post ; highest number of votes secured by any Presidential contestant in the history of American Elections.

Joe Biden who championed the cause of health and safety won. Donald Trump who took the initiative to champion the cause of opening the Economy lost. Is this a victory for Health and Safety over reopening of the Economy will be the matter of debate from now.

What was achievable, believable, and expected had always been on the Election Horizon since the pandemic struck America forcing the attempts to embrace health and safety as the priority of Citizens.

It is also testimony to the changing intellect of voters and the novelty of their decision making amidst the pandemic struggle that brought smiles in the faces of not just the challenger (Joe Biden and his team) but also among a large section of people in this world.

The reasons for this are twofold :

1. Misjudgment of the Republicans : Strong misjudgment about the challenger (weak, frail, old, short of mental acuity, low energy) coupled with strong misjudgment of the situation. From the day of his inauguration on January 20, 2017, President Donald Trump was on fire with enthusiasm, passion, and obsessive zealousness to change the course of direction that Washington DC had taken in serving the people. This effectively drove him to adopt an unconventional strategy which centered on his deep conviction to change the order of plans, policies, programs, treaties, agreements in favour of only America and Americans. It was just a coincidence that many of those decisions came to represent a revenge on his political enemies. Ill-will was borne, nevertheless. It may be correct and proper to say that his “goal” or “mission” was right but the “path” or “means” taken with the accompanying rhetoric invoked anger and fear among the opponents spreading discontent and disapproval. And the fact that the perceptions and beliefs of Citizens while casting their votes were an expression of their positive and true assessment has been validated in the results. It favoured Joe Biden and dismissed Donald Trump.

2. Aggressive Campaigning in the last two weeks : President Donald Trump, himself suffering from COVID-19 ; getting admitted to Walter Reed Hospital for treatment ; coming out of the hospital in 2 days and resuming his task of campaigning through in-person rallies (with 3 to 5 rallies a day) ; drawing huge crowds against the Public Health dictum – all instead of amplifying the support for him seems to have amplified the force of opposition to Trump. But what was too little too late as the election results would show was enough to get the margins narrow, but not enough to surpass Biden’s challenge. Pandemic and Healthcare generally regarded as the defining factors for the voters’ choice in casting their votes prevailed. Alternately, Economy and Law and Order – greatly expected to play a significant role – which was less talked about, discussed, or emphasized by the media, analysts, and even people in the run up to this election have not lived upto their expectations. It effectively got submerged in the persistent and insistent din of health and safety. Minds of voters were more stimulated by the novel issue of the mismanagement of the pandemic, a rare election where an issue of this nature taking centre stage.

General Commonsense Observations : News of President Donald Trump’s early leads in many States must have come as a shock to many pollsters, analysts, party media, and to the Democratic Party Team. That Joe Biden will win in a landslide and Donald Trump will be facing a humiliating defeat did not hold true. In effect, it was a contest between a Team strongly backed by big money, big tech, and big media with deep interests and a person with Personal Charisma. Unlike the polls of 40 or 50 years earlier, voters have not enthusiastically responded to the telephone calls or avoided reflecting their true preferences to the pollsters specially since June when most polls predicted Biden’s victory. Remaining optimistic and responding to the challenge, the Republican voters, specially, were happy to abide by the President’s call to turn out in large numbers for voting on the Election Day. Florida, Texas, Ohio, and Iowa … remained solidly behind Donald Trump. Dark clouds of defeat seemed to have its silver lining in the determination of his voters (his base) including Latinos and some blacks in the voting process ensuing a smooth running of this historic Election.

If Joe Biden stands as the only Presidential candidate with the most number of votes polled in an election in the American History ; Donald Trump has also the distinction of being the second highest in terms of votes scored. That this has happened in this unique election is more than special.

For every success, a ‘dream’ is an important requisite. To fructify the dream, ‘hard work’ is more important. Dream and Hard Work should run in a parallel manner without letting it slip. Hard Work without Careful Thought and Dream without Hard Work cannot result in sprouting fields even if the seeds are sown in time. Biden’s Teamwork may well be an exemplification of this measure.

God “Bishamonten”, (God of dignity and authority) protector of those who follow rules and behave appropriately, surprised everyone with a life changing moment for the Citizens of America in this Election. Will it change the lives of Citizens for better for years into the future is what everyone will be eager to see and experience.

” Dieu avec nous “

Sunday, November 8, 2020 – 7.25 a.m. (IST)

Tidbit : ” This is the time to heal in America. I owe you everything ” – Joe Biden in his address.