And if Trump enters the Oval Office then it’ll amount to a rejection of Obama as much as Clinton. This election is partly a referendum on him. For instance, many voters are furious that their monthly health insurance premiums have just gone up by a national average of 25 per cent (although they can get a tax credit to help). Moreover, a Trump victory will represent the defeat of Obama’s whole style of government as well as its substance. It will say that patrician is out and Right-wing radicalism is in.

Obama always liked to believe he could move his country beyond the culture wars, even though he himself manipulated them. Well now it’s plain that much of America is tired of pretending that it’s united in affection for diversity – and Obama’s old promise of hope has lost its potency. The choice faced in this election isn’t hope. It’s either settling for Hillary or burning the house down with Trump.