General population in US dissatisfied with two-party system: Pundit

Press TV has interviewed Eugene Dabbous, professor at the Notre Dame University in Beirut, to discuss the US presidential election.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: As you have just seen both Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton and the presumptive nominee Donald Trump, big question marks there, it is not a clear path for them towards that final victory. What do you make of this? Is this the best America has to offer?

Dabbous: Personally I would say that Bernie Sanders is the best that the US has to offer but that is not how the American political system works. The primaries and the caucuses allow the general population to choose the candidates. Of course it is very strongly skewed towards big money through advertising but still you see in both cases that the will of the party leadership is not succeeding.

In the case of Trump it is a massive disaster for the mainstream party leadership and in the case of the Democratic Party no one expected Bernie Sanders to be this strong this late in the game.

So in both cases it is a sign that the general population is very dissatisfied with the two-party system.

Press TV: So what can we see in the next weeks specifically when we look at Bernie Sanders take it over here, he has proven to be that dark horse. However, does he even stand a chance?

Dabbous: Mathematically he does if the super delegates would shift and support him. That is highly unlikely, given the power what is called the Clinton Machine, the organization that was set up by Bill Clinton, and of course Obama is indirectly supporting the Clinton ticket.

So it is possible but it is very unlikely. He is staying in the race to put a lot of pressure on Hillary Clinton and also to support left-wing candidates for Senate races and races in the House of Representatives.

Press TV: Of course you spoke of the voters, now when it comes to the voters it seems that there are many who resonate with the message that Donald Trump is portraying and giving out. What do you make of that? What does that mean for the American psyche and the way they want to see their country head in this specific direction?

Dabbous: Trump and Sanders are manifestations of the same phenomenon, the same problem, if you will, the two major parties ignoring the interest of the general population.

However on the part of Sanders, his arguments are genuine. On the part of Trump they are not. He is a demagogue, he has no intention on delivering on his promises and so I would say we have a similar situation to Germany in the early 30s where what was being promised by Hitler was never delivered.

Trump, I would not go as far as saying he is a threat of fascism in the US, but Trump has been able through his media skills to win over people whose interests he does not represent and they are not getting it.

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