All this in a democracy that has long been seen as a model for others. Where the rhetoric slips, either the race is close or the stakes are high. In this case, both. They are extremely large for America, but smaller than usual for the rest of the world.

While the two rivals for the world’s most powerful job differ on domestic issues, they converge on key aspects of global business that matter to most others.

Let’s start with what’s happening in America. Its economy is doing well, with inflation cooling through policy actions that haven’t hurt jobs or output as badly as they could have; barring the sticker shock of a 2022 price hike, its role seems pretty small in this election. The country has even more basic issues to deal with. Like the opening.

A drawing of drawbridges was Trump’s call. So popular was this dubious “Make America great again” mode that Harris had to harden his stance on immigration, going out of his way to portray diversity in a positive light (on Obama) to create a contrast.

It is a battle for the nation’s identity—the Idea of ​​America, so to speak. Does it want to “storm” the world, as the Statue of Liberty says, or not? Trump-versus-Harris is also a litmus test for a crucial aspect of liberty. Shouldn’t women have bodily autonomy?

For many, it comes down to patriarchy versus equality; with gender justice at stake, the day must be seized. And then there’s Trump, who faces a referendum of sorts.

Given the way the Capitol was stormed on January 6, 2021, and Trump’s legal struggles since then, the values ​​at stake plausibly extend to the rule of law and the will of the people, both long taken (or misplaced) , as well as completed transactions.

This election may still pivot on the economy, stupid, but don’t bet on it. Not after Trump wrecked US politics as usual and gave the country a rightward lurch.

The rest of the world is watching, but with the exception of China, Russia and Iran, not as nervously. On climate, Harris is said to be tougher on carbon emissions than Trump, although she has softened on fossil fuels.

On trade, while Trump’s big tariff proposals would distort flows and mean lose-lose outcomes globally, few expect Harris to embrace open markets as a win-win, abandon America’s policy of “small yard, high fence” or let the WTO oversee fair play. .

The US no longer supports free market policies. But in matters of war and peace the expectations of both seem most equal—to be abysmally low. Although Trump claims that Europe and West Asia would have remained calm on his watch (and Bangladesh), he has not explained how. Or how he would extinguish those flames if he chose.

As for Vice President Harris, her effort to balance President Joe Biden’s heavy arming of Israel with words of sympathy for Gaza may have fallen flat not only with those who share the faith of the citizens of Gaza or have a dim view of Zionist excesses, but also anti-war liberals fed up with Uncle Sam’s “axis of overthrow” geo-calculus.

Her campaign messages of dividing the market into two key states have left Trump playing the what-you-see-get card, even as the fog of war shrouds what he would do to win Cold War II peacefully. As America argues with itself, it should consider how others see its value faltering.