USA: Clinton & Trump US election 2016: America's date with destiny. Clinton and trump in its

This long, bruising campaign is drawing to a close. America is holding its breath as to what follows. The political divide is deep. A significant part of the country views Donald Trump as a thin-skinned narcissist, with a loose understanding of the truth, ignorant of international affairs and comfortable with causing offence.Another slice of the country sees Hillary Clinton as untruthful and self-serving, steeped in the corrupt politics of Washington.Millions of voters, however, see Mr Trump as a messenger of change, a man who will bring back jobs, reduce the numbers of immigrants, slash regulation and restore America's sense of its own greatness.A similar number will vote for Mrs Clinton, seeing her as highly experienced, safe and a defender of liberal values.A large number of Americans say, however, that they are disgusted by the tone of the campaign. It was the year reality TV captured politics and turned debate coarse and vulgar.

Ultimately she stands for safety, for experience, for liberal values. But to make that case she has been heavily dependent on Barack and Michelle Obama fighting not just for her, but for their own legacy.

Mr Trump presents himself as a strong man who will shake up "politics-as-usual" but who threatens to tear up trade deals and undo parts of the post-World War Two architecture that underpins global order.

Travelling through North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, amidst the stunning colours of the fall, you still find the warmth and generosity of Americans, bewildered by the harsh intensity of the political battle that swirls around them.

Politics here is broken. Congress scarcely functions. The voices of the men and women who believe in bi-partisanship and collegiality are too often missing.

Like with Brexit there is a revolt against the establishment which cannot be ignored: the inequality; the pace of social change that rattles identity; the perceived powerlessness of those in power in the face of globalisation; the disappearance of the

And emerging from this vacuum is post-truth politics where facts are few and conspiracies and myths flourish. More than 300 economists have signed a letter accusing Mr Trump of peddling "conspiracy theories over sober assessments". But we live in an era where experts are dismissed and mistrusted. And when the voting is done on Tuesday, it may not be over. The divisions will not heal quickly. A quarter of Trump supporters say they will not accept a Clinton victory. And if that is the result, how can Mr Trump concede and offer Mrs Clinton congratulations when he has challenged her very right to be standing? Already senior Republicans have promised to continue investigating Mrs Clinton even if she is elected president.

This is a profound moment for America. It faces an unenviable choice: electing a woman who is widely loathed or choosing a leader who has never held public office before and who many regard as dangerously ignorant. Tomorrow Tuesday 8 November will be a historic moment for America.

The GOP’s electoral-map problem is not about Trump. It’s about demographics.

The Washington Post

Pablo JG Marin M / The Mariana Dangelo Editorial Group