In recent days, just one news item has dominated most of the news media, for good or bad (particularly in the United States but also on the other side of the pond).

No, not the first Labour government in no less than 14 years in the United Kingdom.

No, not the seismic electoral events in France, which saw the far-right step perilously close to the “gates of power.”

No, not the grinding war in Ukraine, now well into its third year, but which shows no sign of abating.

Of course, it is an American story, and the only show in town right now is Donald Trump (not forgetting his newly minted Veep).

A subplot has, of course, focused on President “will-he-won’t-he” Biden.

Biden – finally – took the plunge at the weekend and bowed to enormous pressure to step aside. That leaves whoever might be his replacement with the same seemingly Herculean challenge: beating Donald Trump in November.

It is quite hard to know where to start on this story—and this is from someone who has had a peculiar but continuing fascination with U.S. politics, certainly around election time, dating all the way back to the early 1970s.

Back then, it was the chaos surrounding Richard Nixon and Watergate (and subsequent hearings). So, if nothing else, current events just show that what goes around really does come around. Who said history never repeats itself?

What we cannot deny is that, as one pundit on CNN put it in the early hours of its wall-to-wall coverage of last week’s Republican Party convention, the Americans (in this case, the Republican Party) at least “know how to have fun.”

That was a reference to the oddity of an aging man tearing off his top to proclaim to the adoring crowd that we are now in the age of “Trumpmania.”

We certainly are.

If you doubted that, look no further than the entrance Donald Trump made at the convention before his 93-minute speech last Thursday. For fans (like this writer) of Elvis, it evoked memories of a typical backdrop to his long Las Vegas residency.

Yep, no one does showbiz and politics quite like the Yanks.

The only thing missed was a rendition of Presley’s “The Wonder of You.” Most readers can probably quickly re-work the lyrics a la Trump.

One wonders if dear old President Biden (hitherto referred to affectionately as Uncle Joe) was watching from the sick bed to which he remains confined and, if so, what an old stager like him made of it all.

Presumably, he quietly rolled his eyes and, like the rest of us, began to process the realization that there is, in reality, only one likely outcome in November’s election.

Or did he? What followed was supposed to be the “reborn” Donald Trump reaching out to all sides of an alarmingly divided political spectrum in the United States in an attempt at fostering “unity.”

But, of course, The Donald did not take too long before he reverted to type. This continued, post-convention, with subsequent remarks about Uncle Joe being “pathetic.”

This brings us to what the American (and other) media would have us believe was/is only the 2nd story worthy of any coverage right now: Uncle Joe and his health.

Aside from all the political shenanigans, which have become just a tad tiresome now, the way in which Uncle Joe’s health has been treated and reported strikes me as rather sad and reflective of how we, as a society, treat old age and dementia in particular. He has become almost a figure of fun, and that has been depressing to watch.

Here we have a man, who most would agree is as decent as the day is long, who, as has become all too sadly apparent, appears to be struggling badly with his own health and, especially, his cognitive powers.

Not entirely surprising for someone of his age, of course. It is all rather sad that Uncle Joe did not get the top job, say, 15-20 years ago, when he was at the height of his mental and physical powers. Had he done so and been elected; one wonders how wonderful his presidency might have been. How sad for a man who has dedicated his political life to the good of his country should be reduced to this: a stumbling caricature who seems to even have difficulty boarding/departing Air Force One.

The big error, it now seems, was him standing for re-election in the first place. But does that excuse someone – even his only rival for the presidency – branding him “pathetic”?

No, of course not.

But, then again, Donald Trump is most certainly not alone on this count. So, too, is the media.

In the last 2-3 weeks alone, even a highly respected news channel like CNN, which hitherto appeared to have championed Uncle Joe to the hilt, joined the rest of the media in wanting him out (wish permitted) or as one CNN headline put it: “What will it take?” (to get him to stand down).

One thing that has almost certainly united most observers around the globe is the wonder that a magnificent country like the United States cannot produce younger and more virile leaders than one who has now been forced to step aside and another who is 78 years of age.

Of course, the canny Mr. Trump has partly sought to deal with that by picking a 39-year-old as his running mate. But pray tell, where is the much-vaunted “unity” in someone who recently declared the UK could be the “first truly Islamic country to get a nuclear weapon” and who argues against war-battered Ukraine getting any more aid to prosecute a legitimate war against Russia?

Then again, one might argue that we live in an era of what might be called “short-term memory.”

Certainly, the current (post-assassination attempt) hero worship of Donald Trump – and the borderline assumption that he is a shoo-in for the presidency – conveniently forgets all memory of a certain Stormy Daniels and the condemnation/shame of a former president “being a convicted felon.”

So, if people can forget things like these as quickly as they seem to have, then maybe they will just as quickly forget the “sympathy dividend” currently being enjoyed by Mr. Trump after the horrendous attempt on his life. A newly recharged Democratic Party under fresh leadership will obviously be hoping so.

This might all seem like wishful thinking for Democrats, still lagging behind in the polls and facing what may be a somewhat chaotic convention next month, but, hey, when things stand as they do it, they may well be thankful for even the smallest of mercies.

To which one can only say: Watch this space.