One in the eye for Trump

Well at least there's some decency left in the US political world. The election of a Democrat in Alabama is extraordinary. In Alabama for heaven's sake!!! But having an extreme right wing former judge with 14th century views and an alleged record of sexual harassment of under-age women was just too much for the southern state. Mind you, it was pretty close. Roy Moore who sounds about as unpleasant as you can imagine, nearly beat Doug Jones, the Democrat. It's difficult this side of the Atlantic to appreciate how someone like Roy Moore could have the gall to put himself up for the Senate. But not only did he do so but he got Donald Trump, president of the tragically divided United States to back him and speechify for him. Now Trump admits that he knew Moore would lose because the odds were stacked against him. So why did he pull out all the stops to support him? I'll tell you why, it's because Steve Bannon, his beloved former chief White House strategist and now hush hush Chief Unofficial Political Adviser, said he should. In these circumstances there was nothing General John Kelly or anyone else in the White House could do because it's not in their remit to advise the president whom he should back in state elections. Trump was so desperate to hang on to the Republicans' two-vote majority in the Senate that he would probably have backed a Republican who believes that all homosexuals are criminals. Oh sorry, that's what he did do. Anyway, the defeat of Judge Moore - never mind if Doug Jones is any good or not - is good news for the future of the United States of America. There are enough sensible citizens around to keep the president and his mates in check.