Twice in a row, America’s Democratic Party has made US history. In 2008, it became the first major party with an African-American presidential candidate. Now, with the news that on current predictions, Hillary Clinton will clinch the party’s nomination, it has become the first with a woman at the helm for a shot at the top job.
No celebrations so far in the Clinton camp. Bernie Sanders, Mrs Clinton’s arch-rival for the nomination, has not yet conceded and contested yesterday’s primary in California, the country’s biggest state. Mrs Clinton would have calculated that any celebration may have stopped her followers getting out the vote.
Still, the race for the White House is now a two-horse contest. The polished, experienced Mrs Clinton against the billionaire Washington outsider Donald Trump. This newspaper, like many of its readers, has no vote in that election – and yet, as we have seen many times over many decades, the actions of whoever sits in the White House tend to have an impact on the Middle East. And not always for the good.
We will, therefore, be watching this election closely – even though we have no preference for either candidate – for clear statements of policy towards the region.
To a large degree, Mrs Clinton is the known quantity of the two. Her knowledge of the Middle East stretches back decades and she has built relationships with many leaders here. But Mr Trump, though he has not had a political career, has had business relationships with companies in the Arab world. That may offer him a different perspective and the possibility of forging a new course for the United States.
This election has so far been the most negative US presidential campaign in recent memory. Just this week, Mrs Clinton said Mr Trump had offered “nothing but insults”. There is truth in that, but even Mrs Clinton has spent too much time defending her record and not enough setting out what she would do in office. Both candidates need to start doing that, otherwise voters will face long and bruising months with no real information at the end.