McMurphy v Nurse Ratched – Cuckoo’s Nest revisited in POTUS race

By Alec Hogg

The best authors are fanatical observers, the great Tom Wolfe being an obvious example. Now 85, Wolfe always immerses himself deeply into subjects before finally tapping out the story. Hence a mere 16 novels in 51 years of full-time writing.

So how does this master watcher see his fellow Americans voting in November's Clinton v Trump showdown? During an interview for yesterday's London Sunday Times, Wolfe refused to endorse either as he believes both candidates "have incredible flaws."

But the author of The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Right Stuff won't join those predicting a Trump victory will be a disaster for the USA. He pointed to Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger as evidence that "brilliance is not a pre-requisite for a great leader."

As for Hillary Clinton, "She's very different from her husband, who was very charming. She's very stiff, humour does not come naturally to her…it's hard to see anything that she's done well." So Wolfe is positioning the contest for POTUS a bit like McMurphy against Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In that asylum, the inmates sided with McMurphy. For the sake of the world, the rational among us will be hoping history does not repeat in the real world.