Few in Europe and elsewhere are convinced that Hillary Clinton can trump Donald Trump in November following her performance at the Democratic National Convention.
But a sigh of relief is rising almost everywhere because her acceptance speech seemed to contain nearly everything needed to unite Democratic Party supporters behind her.
Most wait with bated breath to see whether Hillary is truly presidential. Americans seem impressed by her being the first woman in the final stretch of a presidential race.
For allies who have already been ruled by women, as in Britain and Germany, the more important elements lie in whether she is ruthless enough to conquer Trump, stand firmly behind her pledges and make things happen.
Trump is not the real danger for Hillary. That comes from a possible bankruptcy of ideas capable of dispelling doubts about her character and flintiness.
The conflict capable of upsetting the cart is among Democratic supporters — the Bernie Sanders radicals, Hillary haters and the left of centrists who love her.
Thursday’s performance did not dispel European doubts that she is a shark capable of crippling Trump.
Her carefully crafted and superbly intelligent words are not adequate so far to persuade foreign observers that American voters will take “Stronger together” to heart vigorously enough to keep Trump out.
Compared to her, Trump is perceived as a street fighter who looks consistently for vulnerabilities below the belt. His instinctual affinity for fighting dirty combined with very effective demagoguery may yet get the better of sturdy and wonky Clinton.
So the next 100 days will be studied through microscopes in foreign capitals. Many outside the US are familiar with Hillary but few can wrap their heads around the impetuosity sweeping American voters.
Perhaps, the younger radicals, including women, will come strongly to Hillary’s side but many will do so to keep Trump out rather than their love of Hillary’s ideas or confidence in her as a person.
In contrast, Trump’s supporters are like street gangs and true believers psyched up to brush aside all obstacles.
In the Democratic Convention’s early days, there was real concern that hardline Bernie factions would mar her historic moment by resisting appeals for unity to the end.
Thursday’s clumps of yellow prolonged the suspense but seemed to have accepted her by the end of the speech with less hostility than in the past.
There is relief that Bernie and Hillary demonstrated the leadership and cooperation required to prevent further widening of rifts. It remains to be seen whether they also reduced gaps convincingly enough to bring Bernie hardliners into the fold.
By trying hard to rebuild unity, Democratic Party leaders avoided intellectual bankruptcy comparable to the collapse of traditional Republican conservatism under onslaught from the Trump surge.
But bankruptcy of unifying Democratic ideas continues to menace. It will become evident if coming weeks fail to move enough voters to bring victory to Hillary and her sensible “I’m trying to please everyone” platform.
She had little choice but to reach out to everyone because over 40% of the people in the room had fought her tooth and nail until a fortnight ago.
If she loses to Trump, the causes will include her inability and that of Sanders and other Democratic Party leaders to erase doubts among Democrats, fence-sitters, undecideds, independents and others.
Hillary’s classy disdain of Trump and her several liberal-leaning promises may do little to offset the continuing distrust of her honesty as a person and sincerity about standing up to Wall Street and the one percent.
She has pledged to confront low tax paying ultra-rich corporations and persons to help finance her liberal-leaning intentions.
But serious questions remain about this kind of government-sponsored redistribution of income while using government incentives to channel jobs to placate the angry middle class – however laudable and politically expedient be those ends.
By Brij Khindaria