Mitt vs Newt: God decides?

It is all too easy for Europeans to pitch their tent on the moral high ground and look down on American democracy.

The container loads of money thrown at the electorate in the form of attack ads, the treacly language of faith and flag and after all that a turn out barely higher than 50 per cent.

Fair enough. But sitting here in glorious Charleston, South Carolina, the winter sun caressing my cheeks I have to salute the weird and wonderful nature of American elections and their ability to surprise.

Last week, Mitt’s campaign was as meticulous and predictable as a Japanese bullet train. Today Mitt is on the Circle Line.

Ironically, the candidate for whom his ability to make money and understand the dark arts of finance should be his biggest electoral asset has become a victim of his own success.

First the richest Republican ever to run for the White House – John Kerry, a Democrat was richer- casually offers one of his opponents a ten thousand dollar bet live on TV.

Then we hear that he received almost 400,000 – ten times the average annual income – in speaker’s fees. He continues to refuse to publish his tax returns. And it turns out he keeps much of his estimated fortune of $200m off shore in the Cayman Islands.

Mitt, in other words, is so 1 per cent. The Occupy crowd are bored of saying we told you so. The White House is licking its chops.

Mitt is doing their work for them. At a time when ordinary Americans are wondering whether their much vaunted dream is mere reverie Mitt’s money makes him look as out of touch as George H W Bush standing clueless at a supermarket check out till. They both look aloof. Americans don’t resent wealth. But they hate any hint of haughtiness.

Newt -don’t you love these names?- was gloating at Mitt’s misfortunes until that is wife number two of three gave an interview to ABC and spilled the beans how the born again Catholic demanded an open marriage in the late 90s so that he could continue to bed Calista, the woman who became and still is wife number three.

Newt, as the saying goes has more baggage than United Airlines. This may stretch the forgiveness of evangelical voters in Bible belt states like South Carolina. They seem to have decided that hating -defeating- Obama is more important than loving Jesus.

But who wants to burn in hell for Mitt and Newt? Clutching their consciences the evangelical voters of this state will decide on Saturday whether Mitt gets his prize and this race is effectively over until round two in November or whether we all soldier on to Florida and beyond.