THOSE of us with an interest in politics continue to be amazed by the American political system.

Politically similar to Australia and England in that two main groups compete in order to achieve government, the American system of non-compulsory voting works very differently to elsewhere.

In Australia we have the Liberal and National parties on the right and the Australian Labor Party on the left.

In England it is the Conservative Party on the right and the Labour Party on the left, striving for ascendancy.

In the USA we have the conservative Republican Party pitted against the left-of-centre Democratic Party.

This is where the similarity ends, as in both Australia and the UK there are a number of minor parties and independents which make an impact at election time.

Because the USA is the world’s economic leader, it is vitally important to understand what drives their political system.

This allows us to work alongside them politically, and in commercial and defence settings.

For the first time in anyone’s memory the upcoming presidential election is being contested by two candidates who are seemingly universally disliked by most voters.

Both are older-aged contenders with private issues which raise concern about their suitability to manage the world’s leading economy.

In a break from the norm, the African American and Hispanic communities seem well represented in Trump’s Republican supporter base.

Traditionally, these normally socioeconomically disadvantaged groups could be expected to favour the Democratic or left side of the political spectrum.

Indeed, Biden’s election platform aims to support the disadvantaged members of society with financial and economic policies.

In typically American fashion, many people attempting to justify what is going on have come up with well thought out conspiracy theories.

This year we seem to have two groupings that are unlikely to win a seat but are out there financially supporting non-party candidates, in similar fashion to how a group of so-called Teals were funded in Australia’s last Federal Election.

One of these camps is ‘No Labels’, while another is the ‘Third Way’ group.

They both seem to be comfortably funded but basically ineffective politically.

Whilst the main players are presently involved in selecting their Vice Presidential running mate, the wild theories continue to build.

One independent presidential candidate, Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr, is reportedly looking at selecting well-known footballer Aaron Rodgers as his running mate.

I can’t imagine how appointing an ex-footballer to a similar position would be received in Australian political circles.

RFK, as the name suggests, comes from an impressive political dynasty, and is the nephew of assassinated president John F Kennedy.

While a huge range of theories continue to circle, betting people might be better rewarded by sticking with Melbourne Cup picks on the same day, being that first Tuesday in November.

Another group that politicians need to consider ahead of the election are the 7.5 million Jewish people who must be getting nervous at the USA’s inability to continue to fund and supply arms to Israel in its present war with Hamas.

Young voters meanwhile are said to be worried about losing TikTok if it is banned; let’s see if they can be bothered to vote.

From my perspective I think that America lost a brilliant candidate for President when they failed to elect Ross Perot in 1992.

I think this coming USA Presidential election may well result in the American population’s greatest potential loss of face and purpose in our lifetime.

It is a high-risk event where whoever wins is unlikely to advance the profile of the USA in our world.

By John BLACKBOURN