Alec Hogg: Trump v Biden – a Second XI choice for Americans
One of many memorable quotes by Winston Churchill came in 1922 when he described the cabinet of then British prime minister Andrew Bonar Law as "the Second Eleven". He was justified. Law's rule lasted just seven months. Almost a century later the curse has spread with B Teams occuping not just Whitehall but most equivalents elsewhere.
Churchill's description will surely resonate with neutrals who watched last night's televised interaction between the two candidates for the US presidency. In the first of three supposed debates of their ideas, incumbent Donald Trump (74) and challenger Joe Biden (77) spent much of 90 minutes trading personal insults or over-talking.
Even though most US voters have long ago chosen their side, these debates do matter. It's likely to end up a close race and many Americans still "undecided". More importantly, as the US accounts for a quarter of global economic activity – and its share markets half the world's market cap – when the country sneezes everyone else catches cold.
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